


The Other Side

by Pent



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Akatsuki - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Creepy, M/M, Missing in Action, Mission Fic, Mystery, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-04-20
Updated: 2010-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-27 18:16:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2702546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pent/pseuds/Pent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a series of chartless and shady events, Itachi vanishes from Akatsuki and Sasori and Deidara are assigned the mission of hunting him down. What happens when Sasori finds out that there is something much deeper going on than just a missing teammate?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"You heard me right. Are you denying orders from your leader?"

The porcelain skinned redhead stared stoically back at his leader, Pain, as if trying to analyze him further for seriousness. "Of course not."

"Then you  _will_  complete the mission," Pain saint dauntingly. His grim, threatening, emphasis of the statement would have pierced and poisoned the hearts of many, but not Akasuna no Sasori, the puppet of havoc.

"Alone?" Sasori asked, with a grim spark of hopefulness. His head rose slightly.

"With your partner."

"Deidara is not suited for such a mission of defense and stealth," Sasori said calmly. His tone was lined with boredom and years-crusted annoyance as he half-heartedly gazed into the dim light that barely illuminated Pain in front of him. His many facial piercings glistened in the dim light of the caverns and made him seem more intimidating. "I would rather go alone. It would be more effective."

Pain frowned. "This mission cannot be underestimated. You know who we're dealing with."

"An Uchiha," Sasori stated flatly.

"Don't be so cocky," Pain snapped. "You're loyalty and seriousness of your tasks is what made me assign you this mission. If you screw it up, then you're no better than he is. All I ask is that you take all measures needed to complete this mission and to take it seriously."

"I realize that," Sasori replied, briefly thinking of Itachi and his recent betrayal. Pain stared at him.

"Sasori… I am going to stress to you once again. Uchiha Itachi is now a treat to Akatsuki. He knows too much and he is powerful. Akatsuki is in peril because of his departure. This will not be tolerated and Akatsuki will not fall to a single being. You must find him and kill him. Those are your only orders."

Sasori noted the careful wording that Pain chose and looked at him with slight suspicion. "What if there are others involved? If Uchiha Itachi is in fact still living, then it would be very unlikely that he is alone."

Pain shifted and frowned at the unpleasant mess that Akatsuki was currently stuck in. "Kill them. Akatsuki will be on the move as well. We're not dumb, but Uchiha knows that as well. We must be unpredictable. It is essential to our ultimate goal that Uchiha Itachi dies now. The boy knows too much."

"Yes."

"You must also tell no one of this mission. Keep it a secret to everyone – even to fellow Akatsuki. This includes your partner."

Sasori raised an eyebrow at Pain and deepened his frown. "The brat's going on the mission with me, isn't he? It would be quite bothersome if he didn't have a clue what we were doing."

"Maybe he'll find out along the way," Pain said quizzically. Sasori sighed with annoyance, imagining how irritable he would be with the younger pestering him in a sad attempt to get confidential information on their mission.

"It'd be easier if I just told Deidara before-hand," Sasori stressed.

"You must tell  _no one_."

Sasori stared at Pain as if he weren't there. He felt that he was being used for this mission, but said nothing to oppose of his current task. After all, being in a position where you were wanted by every nation and Akatsuki combined would be extremely unfortunate. Sasori wondered where in the world Itachi could possibly be hiding – if he wasn't already dead. Sasori had gathered enough to know that Itachi definitely wouldn't be welcomed into any of the hidden villages with open arms, much like the rest of Akatsuki. Sasori sensed that there was something bigger going on.

"Is there anything you're leaving out?" Sasori asked, almost menacingly, awakening from his thoughts.

"I gave you the information necessary to complete the mission," Pain glowered, looking down at Sasori.

"Tsk, I thought so. I'll be going now." Sasori said, annoyed. He threw one last sly glance at his leader, displaying his suspicion. "Don't expect me or the brat back anytime soon. We don't even have a general idea of where Uchiha is, correct?"

"You know him as a fellow Akatsuki member. Put yourself in his position," Pain advised shallowly. With that, he abruptly turned as started walking away. Sasori listened to the echoing sounds of his footsteps tapping against the stone of the cave. His mission was rather grim. Sasori would have preferred a mission with a perhaps a few set predictable outcomes so that he could go through the precise tactic routines in battle. However, this mission was completely and utterly unpredictable. Sasori didn't even know where to start. If he didn't know better, he would assume that Pain had given him a mission like this in order to improve on his skills, but Sasori knew better. It seemed fishy, like Pain wanted to get rid of him.

Sasori let out an irritated grunt and made his way through the natural caverns that the Akatsuki called home. It was the perfect hideout and base. If an enemy were to approach, it would be extremely difficult to siege because of the sheer size of the caverns. The Akatsuki could factor out any sort of surprise attack. The problem with the caverns was the dampness, darkness, and overall graveyard feeling. The caverns had a hollow and ominous look to them. But, this was no problem for the Akatsuki. They were certainly used to death, misery, and loneliness. In a sick sense, the caverns were a melancholic home to them.

The caverns were dimly lit by the Akatsuki – a renovation that brought some life to the place. But, the dim lights cascaded with spider webs and dust only made the place seem more like a tomb then it already was. Every so often, ice-clawed winds would howl through the caverns like scream, breathing a deadly winter shock onto the Akatsuki. But this was all part of what they considered to be home. The base was well taken care of, solely for the fondness of having a place to call home after being exiled from the world.

Sasori weaved his way through the caverns and eventually heard the all-too familiar dripping sound. It was a beautifully artistic cacosion that sounded like fragile ice shattering into a small puddle onto stone. Only the hard ice droplets were rainwater that somehow managed to leak their way deep into the earth in a most unfortunate location, never to be seen again. Sasori trekked on through the short narrow passage and led himself to where Deidara would most likely be.

"Deidara," Sasori demanded, his voice echoing for what seemed like an eternity. There was no such thing as stealth in these caverns and every little sound was amplified. Sasori was not too fond of it, but found the benefits of living there much greater than the negatives.

"Hmm, what?" Sasori heard Deidara groan. He sounded agitated, so Sasori made his way into what could be called Deidara's room. It was not very homey or big, but it worked. The room itself was a tiny pocket of a cave inside of the caverns that Deidara had managed to find and nestle himself into. Most of the Akatsuki preferred bigger spaces, but Deidara didn't mind being cramped. It was not like he had anything of importance that he would put in the space anyway.

Sasori watched Deidara shiver and rise from the floor and stretch, much like a cat. His blond locks were strewn in every way possible and he did not look happy to be woken up. "What is it, Danna?"

"We have a mission. Hurry," Sasori stated simply, watching Deidara.

"Hey, I just woke up, un," Deidara complained sleepily. He plowed some of the hair out of his face and blinked drearily. "I hate mornings, un."

"Don't keep me waiting, brat. We need to go," Sasori snapped.

"Cold as always, Danna," Deidara muttered sheepishly as he put his golden hair up. Sasori bit his lip and glared at him as he slugged to get ready. He wondered if Deidara was intentionally trying to piss him off or if it was just Deidara's nature that pissed people off. Sasori thought the ladder. "What kind of mission, un?"

"Hurry, dammit," Sasori growled, tapping his foot.

"Well it must be that time of month for somebody, un," Deidara murmured sarcastically. Sasori only glared at him.

"I'll be outside the base. If you're not there within the next five minutes, I'm leaving without you."

"Fine with me, un."

Sasori sighed with agitation and started to make his way towards the place where he kept his puppets. The caverns were like a maze, but one that got boring from him memorizing it long ago. It was a shame that Akatsuki would most likely be leaving the caverns, thanks to Itachi. Sasori didn't even stop to appreciate the drops of water leaking from the ceiling. Instead, his stomped through the puddles, making the water that had gotten there from hours of effort and dripping disperse within a second. The mission hadn't even begun yet and Deidara had already managed to piss him off.

Sasori entered his room – his puppet room. It felt tranquil to him, but would have creeped anyone else out. The room looked like a death-haven, ridden with corpses and various poisons, all his art. Sasori nearly cracked a grin at his eternally magnificent art, but knew that he didn't have time to appreciate it at this very moment. Sasori hastily made his way to the somewhat large room to one of his favorite works, his puppet armor Hiruko. Sasori soundlessness climbed inside of the stocky puppet and enclosed himself inside. The darkness and warmth of Hiruko satisfied him. Sasori activated the chakra strings that brought Hiruko to life once again. Sasori cracked a tranquil grin and skillfully conducted Hiruko out of the caverns.

The caverns were more difficult to navigate and fit through with Hiruko, but it worked nonetheless. Sasori found himself outside, only to realize that it was pouring down rain. Sasori sighed, knowing that it would be much more difficult to find Itachi if it was raining. Then again, he didn't even know where to start looking. Sasori waited for his partner while listening to the intruding pitter-patters of rain lightly tapping against Hiruko's shell.

"No fair, un. You have that puppet of yours to stay warm and dry, un," Deidara pouted jokingly to Sasori as he emerged from the well-hidden entrance to the caverns. Sasori could almost feel the thick aroma of protection and transformation jutsus in the area. On top of that, there were countless amounts of traps.

"Let's go," Sasori stated, making his way forward.

"Where and why, un?" Deidara asked, as he loyally followed his master. Sasori could tell that Deidara hated the rain because of the irritated tone in his voice and the fact that he was shivering. Sasori couldn't recall a time where he actually felt the effects of rain, so he didn't mention it to Deidara.

"Maybe if you would have woken up at a reasonable time like everyone else in Akatsuki you would know."

Deidara seemed to get the point that Sasori wasn't going to tell him about the mission and huffed slightly. "Whatever, un. I'm assuming that we're headed towards the Land of the Wind because you're using Hiruko."

"I suppose so," Sasori said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Deidara snapped, shivering.

"It means that you follow me and shut up, brat. If I decide to go to the Land of the Wind, then I will do so."

"At least its hot there, un. Don't you even know where we're going, Danna?"

"This mission is complicated."

"What is the mission, un? I'm not going to be much of a help if I don't even know what we're doing and where we're going, un," Deidara said skeptically.

Sasori continued to move along, still unsure of their destination. In his head, he thought vigorously about where Itachi would have gone. He decided that just moving would be their best bet now instead of sitting down trying to track the man. They had more of a chance of running into him, even if that chance was damn near impossible. Sasori frowned from inside of his puppet. "You've got a good point, brat. I would tell you if I could."

Deidara sighed. "You don't even know what we're doing, un?"

"Yes, I know what we're doing, brat - and don't sound like all hope is lost. You can't underestimate anything, especially in a situation like this," Sasori said critically.

"Alright, alright, Danna. I was just wondering."

"It's a defensive mission. Be on high alert."

Deidara nodded and kept quiet. Sasori was happy that he had stopped asking questions. He felt that it was unfair that he had to keep so much information from his very partner, but orders were orders. If Sasori didn't obey his orders, then he would end up like Itachi.

Sasori thought about Itachi's, as Pain put it, departure. Sasori really didn't think about it beforehand, but realized afterwards that the signs of Itachi leaving were really quite obvious. He had been spending drastic amounts of time outside of the base and was always completely distracted when he was at the base. Itachi seemed to be intentionally avoiding the rest of Akatsuki at all costs – even Kisame, his good friend and partner. Sasori knew that Itachi's strange behavior began to happen overnight, so something must have happened to him on the last mission he went on. Sasori hadn't a clue of what, though.

When Itachi left Akatsuki for good, it was obvious. He didn't put up a fight and attempt to kill anyone within the organization, though, bizarrely enough. Itachi seemed to have just vanished. One day he was there, and the next day his coat and ring were sitting on the cold floors of the caverns. He was gone for good; it didn't take a genius to know that. Pain was furious at Itachi's spontaneous and dangerous departure at such a critical time in Akatsuki. Sasori could think of many possible scenarios as to why he left, but he was clueless as to where he would have gone.

"Tsk, how annoying," Sasori muttered, breaking away from his strained thoughts. Deidara glanced at him.

"Can you really not tell me anything about the mission, un?" Deidara asked. He was probably happen that the silence was broken by Sasori instead of himself. Traveling, especially with no clear destination, was tedious.

"I'm afraid not."

"Why, un? Doesn't that seem weird to you. Since I am going on the actual mission and all, un… I deserve to know what it is that I'm doing, or how long it's going to take."

Sasori sighed. He knew that Deidara wouldn't give up his pestering on the mission anytime soon, but he held his ground. "Yes, you deserve to know. I was specifically told not to tell anyone about the mission or its whereabouts."

"Just tell me, un." Deidara snarled, frustrated. "I have no idea what to expect, un."

Sasori grunted and considered telling Deidara about the mission, just to get him off of his back. Besides, Deidara really did deserve to know about the mission. "Alright, Deidara. I'll tell you something about the mission just so that you don't get yourself killed and so that you'll leave me alone about it." Deidara said nothing, so Sasori continued. "It's a search and retrieve mission – now please be quiet again so I can think."

"Search and retrieve what, un?" Deidara asked, blatantly ignoring his master.

"I can't tell you that."

"Well thanks, Danna. That information just changed everything, un! Now I'll never die in battle and can bring people back from the dead, un!" Deidara exclaimed sarcastically. Sasori rolled his eyes from within Hiruko.

"Good to know. You'll need that ability once I kill you, brat." Deidara simply shrugged and continued slinking alongside Sasori. It had been hours since the two had departed and the sun was beginning to set. They had not covered much ground at all, and it was obviously bothering Deidara.

"Oi, Danna. Why are we going so slow?" Deidara asked sharply. "I thought you were the impatient one, un."

"Shut up, Deidara," Sasori hissed. "I'm trying to think of a logical plan."

"Why didn't you do that beforehand, un?" Deidara argued, once again ignoring Sasori's orders to shut up.

"Because it saves time," Sasori snapped shortly.

"That's bullshit, un. You know as well as I do that wandering aimless through the woods without a clear plan while you're thinking up some plan is completely ignorant thinking, un. We should stop and think something through, assuming that you know what is we're looking for, un."

Deidara had stopped walking in order to emphasize how stupid Sasori's plan really was. It was as if he would refuse to budge until Sasori gave into following a new plan. Sasori thought it through and painfully realized that Deidara was probably right. But what Deidara didn't know was that they were dealing with an Uchiha, who could probably kill them both if they were taken by surprise and not prepared at all. Sasori didn't know how Itachi would react if he found an ex-team member.

"Alright brat, you're right," Sasori said shortly, defeated. "But you must know that we have no idea what we're up against. There's no way of detecting how much threat we will face on this mission. We could be attacked at any time; you must be prepared."

"Fine, un. Let's just get out of this godforsaken rain so that I can hear myself think," Deidara said stubbornly. "I'm sure there's an inn or two in the Land of Rivers, un."

"Deidara, we can't draw attention to ourselves."

"Then it's a good thing we're here, un."

"We can't just waltz into any inn we please, Deidara. May I remind you that we're S-ranked missing nin?"

Deidara sneered. "Some people respect us, un. Even if it is out of fear."

"What don't you understand about not drawing attention to ourselves?"

"Maybe if you told me why exactly we have to stay so low for this mission, I would be concerned, un," Deidara said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, all this rain can't be good for Hiruko, un. Or me," he added.

Sasori paused to think about it. "Deidara, we can't – "

Sasori was interrupted by the sickening thunk of a kunai hitting the tree right beside his head, missing Hiruko's head by a centimeter or two. Sasori cursed loudly and Deidara was already feeding his hands clay.

"No, Deidara. We have to stay low," Sasori reminded his partner quickly as he pulled Hiruko in a defensive stance. Deidara let out an annoyed grunt and put his clay down, ready to fight in other means. It was impossible to hear through the thundering rain, but Sasori managed to see where the second kunai was thrown from and lunged Hiruko at the enemy. Hiruko was not built for head-on offense, but it would have to do for the time being. Behind him, Sasori heard a crash and the clinging sounds of metal clashing against metal. It was an all-out ambush.

Sasori defensively whirled around and in a heartbeat was helping Deidara in the gore-fest. The battle could best be described as a slaughter. The enemy nin seemed to take all of their pride and advantages from the supposed sneak attack and the stealth of the rain. They had made a grave mistake.

Sasori swiftly controlled Hiruko to stab straight through an enemy's chest with his poisoned tail. The man screamed in agony and tried to resist. Sasori meaninglessly through down the body and knew that his poison would finish the job quite nicely. Deidara seemed winded. He had not expecting to have to fight in physical melee like this, but still easily took down his opponents.

The battle was over in a matter of minutes. Deidara kicked the last remaining nin and a sickening crack was heard through the rain. Deidara had already recovered from his breathlessness and was covered in the blood from his enemy. The only physical defect on him was a small slice on his face. Sasori hoped that his puppet didn't take much damage.

"Alright, I believe you about laying low, Danna," Deidara finally said effortlessly, curiously staring down at the men that had killed. Deidara seemed fascinated with the bloodshed – or he maybe was just surprised at the sudden attack. Sasori relaxed a little and looked down at the fallen attackers. "Is this something you were expecting, Danna?"

"…Not at all," Sasori replied. "These are Mist nin."

Deidara looked confused and then inspected the corpses again. There were at least ten people slaughtered from the ambush. Surely enough, they were wearing proud headbands of the Mist. Sasori kept a sharp eye out for a second wave, but deemed it useless since he could not see or hear anything through the rain.

"What the hell are Mist nin doing here, un?"

"I don't know. It didn't seem like they were waiting for us, though. It's probably a few genin on a mission," Sasori said.

"You're just trying to make yourself believe that, Danna."

"Perhaps."

Deidara paused. "Does this have something to do with our current mission, un?"

Sasori stared thoughtfully at the Mist nin corpses and gritted his teeth. "I don't believe so. It would be completely irrelevant, actually. But that would only be in normal circumstances…"

Sasori tried to make any quick connections to Itachi and Kirigakure, but could think of none. He thought out outlandish things in his head, but none of them revealed why Mist nin were waiting to ambush something in the middle of the Land of Rivers. Akatsuki was allied with Kirigakure, so it would kind of make sense for Itachi to seek haven there. Nothing seemed to add up.

"Deidara. I think we ought to pay Kirigakure a visit. These are not normal circumstances. I think we may find what we're looking for. If not, we'll most definitely find some clues and information."

Deidara groaned tiredly. "We're headed in the opposite direction, un. But whatever – you're the one who knows what's going on, un."

"Alright then, let's go," Sasori stated. He had a terrible feeling that they were getting themselves tied in a mess that they did not want to be in, but kept on going. Sasori hoped that they would find something out about the ambush or Itachi in Kirigakure.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasori and Deidara made quick time, making it through the Land of Fire and arriving in a small port town in the Land of Waves in several days. Although the journey was not long in terms of time, it seemed to last an eternity. Sasori was extremely anxious and restless with anticipation of what clues he would find about Itachi once they arrived in Kirigakure. The more he seemed to learn about Itachi, the more complicated the situation got.

Traveling through the Land of Fire without being noticed was easier than one would think. The Land of Fire consisted of mostly forests, so it was easy to stay away from the wandering eyes of villages by staying on the treetops. However, this method was risky – one misstep and you would fall to your death and be revealed to everyone in the surrounding area. Sasori and Deidara made sure to only travel like such when they were not completely exhausted or if it was broad daylight.

Needless to say, the quick journey may have not been difficult, but it left Sasori and Deidara exhausted. Sasori bitterly gave in to Deidara's sweet suggestion of finding a place to stay and getting something to eat. Since the small port town they were in was tiny, it would be hard to notice them.

"Let's get food first, un. I'm starving," Deidara muttered, exhausted. Sasori stared at Deidara with interest. Both Deidara and Sasori were disguised as simple merchants from Iwagakure. Deidara wore loose-fitting cloths and his skin was rougher – his hair dark and short. It was strange to see him like this when he was still obviously Deidara from the way he carried himself.

Sasori had used a scroll to dismiss Hiruko. Although unrecognized, he still disguised himself by changing his hair to black. He wore loose-fitting clothes much like Deidara and a cowl to cover his face. The two looked like foreigners, but the entire town consisted of foreigners and traders. The small village seemed to serve as a bridge to Kirigakure, which was exactly where they needed to be.

"Deidara," Sasori started.

"Hm?" Deidara answered, gazing around the town. It was lively for such a small town.

"There are probably clues to what we're looking for in this town. We're going to stay here a day longer than we would have, alright? But no more than a day. I don't want to get ambushed again, especially in a small town like this. Things like that spread and the whole world would know about us."

"Alright, un," Deidara said, obviously distracted by the commotion of the town. Sasori stared at him. He seemed absolutely fascinated in something – maybe the aura that the town seemed to emit. The town seemed like a place that Deidara would like.

Sasori's dead eyes surveyed the town. He looked around for an inn, but did not see one at first glance. Sasori glanced at his partner, who appeared to still be fascinated by the simplicity of the port village. "Deidara, why don't you look around a bit while I find an inn. Try to eavesdrop a bit for anything that sounds moderately important."

"Right," Deidara muttered. In a blink he was gone. Sasori watched him run off and wondered what he was so interested in. The small village was lined with unbelievable amounts of venders selling just about anything. Although it was a small town, there were people from all over the place – including Iwa. Sasori was grateful for that because they blended in. He just hoped that no one would confront them and did not want to deal with something like that. Sasori was much too distracted from the mission and could easily be caught off guard. With that thought, Sasori straightened his awkward human posture and wandered along the road.

The village was vibrant and heavily decorated. It was amazing how many people this small town could contain. Sasori concluded that the majority of the people currently here were not residents. He could tell this from the fact that it was a port town, and the sheer amounts of traveling merchants.

As Sasori walked, he tired to tune into any conversation of big events that had happened recently that might have anything to do with Itachi. So far, he had only heard small talk, introductions, travel discussions, and the drought in the southern portion of the Land of Wind. Nothing particularly sparked his interest. Sasori eventually found himself at the docks of the town. There were several boats bobbing calmly in the deep-blue water. The ocean was calm and refreshing, yet still a bit foggy on the late-day horizon. Sasori stared at the horizon and tried to enjoy it rather than to worry about his grave mission.

"Pretty, huh?" Sasori heard. He sharply turned his head towards the foreign speaker and had impulsively reached for a weapon. It a matter of seconds, he remembered where he was and his eyes softened, but he still remained tense. The speaker was a strong man – most likely a dock worker. His muscular build, however, did not match one of a ninja at all, and Sasori relaxed.

"Yes," Sasori answered to the man, almost skeptically. The other's blue eyes seemed to burn through Sasori's flesh like an ant under a magnifying glass. Sasori hated everything about it.

The man grinned at Sasori, who awkwardly avoided eye contact. "You're not from around here, are you? I can tell by the way you're staring at the sea," the man chucked.

Sasori eyed him curiously from beneth his cowl. "I'm a merchant from Iwagakure," he said stoically.

The man looked at him with interest. "Ah, I see. Not much water around those parts, eh?" Sasori shook his head. It was odd, talking to someone in a body that he wasn't used to and as an equal. He felt naked without the protection of Hiruko and without the gleaming respect and fame he got from being widely known and feared. Oddly enough, Sasori hated not being recognized. He wanted people to know who he was and fear him, and fed off and savored the feeling any time he could. But right now, he was just talking to an average man, as an average man. Human to human, commoner to commoner. Sasori remained quiet and looked off into the distance again.

The other didn't seem to lose interest in talking to Sasori. "I like you're fascination with the sea, it reminds me of the first time I saw it," the man went on, not knowing or caring if Sasori was listening or not.

Sasori nodded. "You're not from here, either." The man looked like he was born and bred seadog to him.

"Nope, I'm from Sunagakure."

 _So am I._ "What brings you here, then… erm…"

"Daichi," the other finished. Sasori flushed, irritated by his lost social charm. "I don't know, really. My father took me here when I was little and when I saw the sea for the first time, it was love at first sight," Daichi continued, smiling.

Sasori considered mentioning his hatred towards water, but something about Daichi slightly intimidated him. "I see. So you work on the ocean?"

"Yup," Daichi answered proudly. He beamed at Sasori. "I'm still an apprentice, but I'm proud to call myself a sailor! But enough about me, I'm interested to know why a merchant such as yourself, came all the way from Iwagakure and has not yet set up a stand."

"Well, to get introductions out of the way since you already introduced yourself, my name's Osamu," Sasori lied. "My brother and I are on our way to Kirigakure," he said cheerfully.

Daichi seemed to cringe. Sasori looked at him curiously. "Kirigakure? I'm sure you could find better business elsewhere," he said, slightly nervous. It just reminded Sasori how weak people were and made him feel better himself.

"Why not Kirigakure?"

"Well, you probably haven't heard from Iwagakure, but Kirigakure has been acting strange lately. It's probably no place for a merchant, granted if they even let you inside the town."

Sasori mind snapped into action, absorbing everything that Daichi told him. "What?" Sasori asked with faux confusion and slight fear. "What do you mean that the town is acting strange?"

Daichi lowered his voice. "You didn't hear this from me, but I heard that the fifth Mizukage is affiliated with missing nin – just like the fourth might have been. I've even heard that they're being controlled by Akatsuki."

Sasori bit his lip upon hearing that last word and immediately felt the slight surge of adrenaline sparked from the sweeping fear that he had been discovered. But Sasori pressed on and milked the conversation for all it was worth. Even though Daichi was spitting up rumors, what he said could definitely help him on his hunt for Itachi. "That's scary," Sasori muttered, staring at the horizon again.

"It is," Daichi replied. "Lately, we've been getting less and less business, too. Kirigakure residents have not been leaving the village and people don't want to go there anymore. I'm afraid that their going to start cutting out all contact to the outside world from Kirigakure, even if that means severing the trade routes. That's the one thing they would never do, though. After all, they need food for their expanding military."

Sasori nodded melancholically. "There isn't a way for me to get to Kirigakure, then?"

Daichi frowned. "Sorry, buddy, but the chances of you being allowed into the village are quite slim at the moment. I don't know why you would want to go there now, though. I'm sure that there are plenty of other hot spots for trade."

"There are… but there's something I needed to do in Kirigakure," Sasori said, disappointed. Daichi glanced at his newfound friend sadly.

"Maybe there's something I can do about it," Daichi started slowly. "I mean, I could take you and your brother over to Kirigakure to see if they would let you in… for a price, of course."

Sasori's eyes shined with interest. "You would really do that for me Daichi-san?"

"Well sure! It'll give a guy like you a true experience out on the sea, won't it? I remember my first time sailing," Daichi said, gleaming off into the sky, lost in his love-sick memories. Sasori thought about his offer and how lucky he was to encounter a person like Daichi. He still had that bad feeling about him, but he would be traveling with Deidara.

"Tell you what, can I find you here in a day or two?" Sasori inquired. "I'll have to inform my brother of this and find a place to sleep."

"Oh, sure. Take your time – this truly is a magnificent village."

"Yes, quite," Sasori replied. "Do you know where the inn is in this magnificent village is?" Sasori was eager to be alone after what amounted too the most conversation he had had in nearly a week.

"Yeah, there's an inn on the northern part of the town – right over there," Daishi answered sheepishly, loosely gesturing towards where Sasori wanted to be. Sasori smiled faintly.

Sasori bowed deeply to Daishi before he rushed off. "Thank you very much Daishi-san. I owe you a lot. It was very nice meeting you and I will see you soon."

Daishi cracked a smile at Sasori. "It's my pleasure, Osamu-san! I'll see you around."

Sasori gave a quick smile to his newly acquainted round-trip to Kirigakure and was off. His mind was now swarming with thoughts. What was going on? Sasori considered that maybe things were far less complicated than he was making them – Itachi did seem like a simple man – but couldn't help but over-analyze everything. In the type of mission he was doing, he had no other choice. Sasori had to find and clutch onto any sort of clue he could find about Itachi, even if it had nothing to do with him at all. He had to start somewhere.

The sun had started setting and Sasori wanted nothing more than to find Deidara. It was a strange feeling, wanting to have Deidara around. Sasori's conversation with Daishi had seemed so fake on both of their parts. It very well may had been Sasori being paranoid, but he felt that Daishi was not the kind-hearted sailor that he had met at the docks. There was definitely something strange about him.

The last strands of dusk were coughing their dusty last breaths into the darkening twilight as Sasori scanned the village for Deidara. It was much harder to find him when he wasn't his usual blonde self. Sasori noticed that the village was much more vacant during the coming of night and seemed a lot calmer and grave. The village now was only active by venders leaving the area and taking their things down. Sasori assumed that Deidara would be one of the stragglers.

"Deidara?" Sasori hissed quietly into the dusk. He immediately got a sharp head-turn from an exhausted looking person ahead of him. It was definitely Deidara. He slumped towards Sasori, looking defeated.

"What happened to you, brat?"

"I'm so hungry," Deidara nearly whimpered. "You have all the ryo, un."

Sasori rolled his eyes and smiled faintly. "It's probably too late to get food now; you'll have to wait until morning." Deidara groaned and cursed faintly. Sasori could tell that Deidara had no energy left.

"I found an inn," Sasori offered.

"Wonderful, un," Deidara grunted. "It would an even better inn if it were made out of bakudan."

"Quit complaining."

"You're just saying that because you don't have to eat, un."

Sasori ignored him, not wanting to argue with Deidara right then. "I found us a way to Kirigakure."

"And I found some unfortunate things out about Kirigakure, un. At least I have a good hunch now on why those nin attacked us in the forest. They seem to be isolating themselves from everyone else in order to expand their military, un."

"I know."

"You know?" Deidara asked, oddly surprised yet too unenergetic and hungry to care.

"I got lucky and met someone – a sailor's apprentice. He is going to try to take us to Kirigakure and he seemed to know a lot of rumors about the place, some involving Akatsuki."

Deidara didn't seem to flinch at the idea and only stared curiously. "Is that so, un. What about Akatsuki? Shouldn't we not go there if people are suspicious of us being there, un?"

Sasori paused. "Daishi, the sailor, told me that he had been hearing things about the fourth Mizukage being involved with Akatsuki – which is true, we manipulated him. But he also heard things about the fifth Mizukage being manipulated by Akatsuki, which as far as I know, is incorrect. Either this is just a crazy rumor or…"

"Orochimaru," Deidara spat. Sasori hadn't even considered the idea, but was glad that Deidara thought that it was where he was going with the thought. "That sick fuck, un! He doesn't appreciate art at all, un, and he wouldn't even understand it if we shoved it down his slimy throat!"

"We need to focus on the mission, Deidara. As much as I want to tear Orochimaru limb from limb, we have a mission to focus on."

Deidara narrowed his eyes. "You seemed pretty set on going to Kirigakure a couple minutes ago, un."

"Yes, but not to kill Orochimaru."

"Then why in the world would you be interested in pursuing random rumors about Akatsuki activity in – oh," Deidara abruptly stopped talking and stared at Sasori curiously. His voice was quiet with realization. "We're supposed to find Itachi, un."

Deidara's blunt statement clearly had no question behind it. He now absolutely sure of his mission and had come to the most logical conclusion he could muster from all of the clues that had been given to him.

"Damn," Deidara said with fascination, "It all makes sense now, un. We're traveling completely blind."

Sasori nodded. "I'm glad that you figured that out for yourself. It was bothersome that Pain didn't allow me to tell you and it was even more bothersome for you to pester me about it. Now that that's out of the way – let's go to that inn. We can stop to think about it there."

"Alright, un. They'd better have food." Sasori shrugged.

The two began walking towards the inn. Night had fallen now, but the town was not completely cascaded in darkness. The mood was bright and nearly full that night – Sasori expected it to be full in a day or two. The village truly was a work of art both in the daylight and in the night. The contrasting moods of the village fit together like ying and yang. Sasori contemplated this soothing thought while he and Deidara walked down the road. Sasori was much less paranoid now that he was with Deidara and wondered if Daishi would still seem suspicious when he was with his partner. Sasori certainly hoped so.

Sasori geared himself away from unpleasant thoughts when the two of them arrived at the inn Daishi had told them about. It was a small, traditional looking building, to Sasori's surprise. He had expected to see a large building to house the many venders and travelers. Perhaps there were different inns around.

Sasori reached to open the inn's door. "Danna?"

"Hm."

Deidara hesitated, thinking. "Don't you think it's kind of… strange, un?"

"The inn?"

"No," Deidara scoffed, annoyed. "Just… everything, you know. How Pain forced you not to tell anyone about this, un. And not to mention that he even cares what happens to Itachi, un. It was his own choice to leave. If anyone else would have left, Pain would have just left them to be hunted down and murdered by their own and neighboring villages, un."

Sasori took his hand away from the door. "Deidara, did you notice the way Itachi had been acting before he left Akatsuki? I might have just been acting paranoid now that I know my mission and am desperate for clues, but did you notice anything at all?"

"No," Deidara started. "Actually, come to think of it, he seemed to be spending more and more time away from Akatsuki, un. He seemed to be getting happier, too."

"Happier?" Sasori asked, curious. "How so?"

"You didn't notice, un?"

"I'm not good with emotions," Sasori stated blandly.

Deidara cracked a tired grin. "He was happier, un. I was weird though – he would barely even talk to us and he was never at the base. It was as if he found some haven other than Akatsuki to go to, un."

"That… makes sense," Sasori said with a small hint of relief.

"But it isn't enough, un. I think that we should still head on to Kirigakure, since that makes sense based on the rumors, un. If he's not there, then we might figure something else out there."

Sasori stared sheepishly at Deidara with a snide grin. "Is it just me or are you a lot more reasonably calm and intellectual when you're half-dead exhausted and starving?"

"Shut up and don't remind me, un," Deidara grumbled, pushing his way into the inn. Sasori followed, completely relieved that Deidara had found out about the mission. It certainly made things a lot easier and brought a new perspective to his ideas.

After the two Akatsuki members had successfully aquired a room – albeit with a bribe – Deidara had immediately gone to sleep. Sasori considered finding food for him so that he wouldn't complain the next day, but deemed it useless to go out once they had already gotten a room at the inn. The room was small and well-kept, with a sad empty feeling to it. The walls seemed to linger with a sense of loneliness and the creaking wooden floors were the only comforting sounds. It was a traditional-looking room that was barely furnished, but still had two small beds and a window.

Deidara slept heavily, squirming around in his sleep and peacefully cradling the covers to his bare chest. Sasori watched him for a while, amused by his restlessness. He then went to the window and sat on the floor by it. Nighttime was always tranquil to Sasori. The only sounds that could be heard were Deidara's even fragile breathing and the light buzz of night insects going about their business from outside. Other than that, it was silent.

Sasori thought about many things, yet his mind did not race. He analyzed the courses of the previous day and thought a lot about Daishi. Sasori could not place his finger on why he thought Daishi was so suspicious. However, he was cautious and did not try to shrug the feeling off. Sasori's instincts were rarely wrong, even if he was over-paranoid at times. Sasori hoped that all would go well. He hoped that everything would go well with the mission, too.

"Where the hell are you, Itachi?" Sasori breathed rhetorically into the damp air of the room. He received no reply.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasori's late night contemplations did not as long as he had hoped they would. In what seemed to be a blink of an eye, Sasori snapped back into reality from the disruptive sounds of Deidara waking up. Sasori tore his cold, dead eyes away from the window and glanced over to where Deidara was. He appeared to be sleeping, but more restless than he had earlier in the night. Sasori thought about if he should let the younger sleep in a bit longer – he truly had been exhausted beyond reason. However, dawn had already broken over the watery horizon, and the village looked like it had been brought back from the dead. It's transformation from a graveyard into a peaceful port town had only taken a couple of hours. Sasori was truly amazed that the sun had risen that morning after what he had seen the previous night.

"Wake up, brat," Sasori demanded gently, intruding in on any dreams Deidara may have been having. Sasori was bitter and slightly jealous of Deidara for being able to do something as simple as sleep. It was definitely one of the things Sasori had taken for granted as a human – something that he was now unable to do.

Deidara groaned and shuffled, burrowing himself deeper into his covers, much like a mother bird would nest her baby chicks in the coldest of winters. Sasori stared at him with intolerance and rose from where he had been sitting to wake Deidara up more effectively. "I said wake up. It's morning."

Deidara grumbled a series of colorful curses and gibberish from underneath his covers and showed no signs of getting out of bed anytime soon. Annoyed and impatient, Sasori violently yanked the covers from Deidara's sleepy grasp and threw them on the floor. Deidara groaned with annoyance and spat out every curse word in his vocabulary. Sasori, however, ignored these half-drunken protests and walked calmly back to the window. When Sasori peered outside once again, he noticed that the grass was soaked with dew from the night before and the glaring morning sunlight stained the water still. It was so bright outside and the sun had yet to completely rise. The village was vivacious once more.

"What the hell was that for, un? I haven't slept in a decent bed since god-knows-when and we're not even in a hurry, un," Deidara growled, crawling out of bed now that he was cold and coverless. He shivered dramatically and Sasori rolled his eyes, looking at his pathetic form. Deidara was not a morning person and Sasori gave him no sympathy.

"Neither I nor Daishi appreciate your laziness, Deidara," Sasori said sheepishly, looking at his partner. "Plus, you're going to starve even more than you already are if you stay in bed all day. You'll have to eat food eventually," Sasori cajoled.

Deidara didn't argue with that and seemed to perk up a bit. He immediately rose from the bed and pulled on his loose-fitting shirt that he had thrown on the floor the night before. Deidara rushed to put his hair up and was slightly surprised when he found that most of his hair was missing, excluding a small patch of short hair. Confused, Deidara stood still. His expression completely changed back to sheer hunger when he remembered the mission he was on and that he was disguised. "Let's go, Danna, un."

Sasori didn't budge and simply laid his soul-trapping eyes on Deidara and smirked. "I never thought I'd hear  _you_ say that."

"I'm starving, un! Quite literally," Deidara said to defend himself, poking his slim stomach for emphasis. "No waiting for Sasori Danna? I guess today's your lucky day, un."

"I certainly hope so," Sasori replied, referring to the mission and his suspicions about Daishi. Deidara gave a weak nod in agreement and quickly headed out of their room. Sasori followed him as he rushed out of the inn into the revived, midmorning village.

The freshness and added volume of the town surprised Sasori. People were up and about doing business like nothing had happened, even though the town had looked like a vacant ghost town only hours before. Merchants were setting up for the day and carelessly laughed and chatted amongst each other and their customers. All the tension Sasori felt the day before seemed to diminish as he followed Deidara. Sasori wondered if it was just the small town feeling that he had never felt before from living in massive Sunagakure when he was young.

It was amusing, really, that Deidara seemed to suddenly know his way through the small village as if he had lived there for years. His newfound instinct was entirely out of starvation and dumb luck. Deidara was certainly lucky, if not anything else. Sasori would admit to that. Although, Sasori knew that one day, his stupid and reckless decisions would not give him the lucky turn out and he would die, like he should have an amazing amount of times. Sasori wondered how Deidara had weaseled out of death so many times, yet he still was as reckless as ever. But somehow, the kid still remained among the living.

Deidara somehow managed to lead himself straight to a ramen shop, much like a dog being called for by his owner. Sasori stared at him with wonder and disbelief. Sometimes, the brat really puzzled him.

"I'll take anything, un, just give me food," Deidara wheezed to the surprised shop owner. He gave Deidara a look. Regardless, the shopkeeper nodded and called to the chef to make something, anything.

"Er, do you want anything, sir?" the shopkeeper asked Sasori, still eyeing Deidara, who was staring into the kitchen with such intensity that it worried the shopkeeper.

"No thanks," Sasori said, also looking at Deidara, slightly annoyed.

The shopkeeper paused. "Is he okay?"

"He's hungry," Sasori answered stoically, leaning his arm on the table so he could rest his head on his hand. He glanced again at Deidara as the shopkeeper awkwardly walked away. Deidara looked like he was about to pass out, but his only motivation for not passing out was the sizzling sounds of his food being prepared in the kitchen.

Soon enough, Deidara got his ramen and started to scarf it down mercilessly. He didn't even look at the shopkeeper serving him or even the ramen. Sasori wondered if he had really been that hungry and felt a small twinge of guilt. If his partner died from starvation, he would have a lot of explaining to do.

After Deidara plow through a shocking three more bowls of ramen, Sasori paid the shopkeeper a respective amount and the two decided to find Daishi.

"Don't you think it's kind of suspicious that this Daishi guy is going to randomly take us to Kirigakure, un?" Deidara asked with liveliness, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yes, but it shouldn't be a problem. If he turns on us, we'll just kill him," Sasori said blandly. Deidara, having been fed, was back to his normal and alert self. The two of them walked down the busy street, heading towards the ocean that sparkled in the morning sun.

Deidara huffed. "It can't be as simple as that, un. It never is, especially when you're suspicious, un," he said.

Sasori sighed. "I know," he replied simply. "But we need to get to Kirigakure."

"I'm sure there's another way, un."

"From the looks of the current worldly situation, I'd say not."

"Hn," Deidara grumbled, defeated. "Well, we can't just go waltzing right into Daishi's possible trap, un."

"We'll just have to be prepared for the worst, then."

Deidara stopped and looked at Sasori curiously. "It's not like you to be so reckless, un."

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice for the mission."

Deidara shrugged and continued to follow Sasori to the docks. It was a beautiful morning and the ocean was as clear as ever. The fog over the horizon was no longer there and birds flew around the area freely, honking and tweeting normally. Sasori scanned the area cautiously for the one he knew as Daishi and Deidara stood beside him, looking at the sky with boredom and slight annoyance at the potential risk they were about to take.

"Ah, Osamu-san!" Sasori heard someone yell. He looked around and saw a strong boy with dark green hair running energetically towards him and Deidara with a huge grin. It was definitely Daishi.

"Good morning Daishi-san," Sasori said warmly. "This is my brother, Ginji," he said, gesturing towards Deidara. Deidara had a bitter and displeased look on his face and his eyes fell upon Daishi with much boredom.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Daishi," Daishi introduced, bowing slightly and smiling at Deidara. Deidara simply nodded and glared at him. Daishi looked offended at the other's rudeness but ignored it and turned to Sasori. "So, how about that offer?"

"We'll gladly accept it," Sasori said, continuing to smile.

"Good, good!" Daishi said happily. "My master will be coming along too, of course – since I'm only an apprentice. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Sasori replied. Though, he was a bit worried. Daishi had never mentioned that before, but it had been assumed. Deidara refused to make eye contact or talk to Daishi and seemed thoroughly pissed off. It was rather obvious that Daishi was uneasy by this. Sasori wanted to punch Deidara for acting as though he was skeptical of them. It just made matters worse and more complicated. "I apologize for Ginji. He's not very fond of the idea of sailing."

Daishi laughed uncomfortably. "I'm sure he'll get used to it in due time."

"Daishi!" a brooding voice barked. Daishi looked slightly annoyed and turned to the source of the shout. The speaker was a short man – only slightly taller than Sasori in his true form. He was rather skinny and had chin-length brown hair. The man had soft features but a hard face with piercing gray eyes. He wore black pants and a sad excuse for a white shirt.

"Hello, master," Daishi said respectfully. The other stared at Sasori and Deidara, making them feel slightly uncomfortable under his piercing gaze.

"Are these the guys?" Daishi's master said, getting straight to the point. His voice was soft and calm, despite the threatening tone he put on. Sasori didn't know what to think of the man and stared right back at him.

Daishi nodded, smiling. "Master, this is Osamu – and this is Ginji – the merchants who need to get to Kirigakure."

Daishi's master stared long and hard and the two, as if trying to see through them. He did not look happy about having to take Sasori and Deidara to Kirigakure and back. "It's Kuri," he said blandly, still staring. "You two don't look like merchants."

 _And you don't look like a sailor of any sorts, pretty boy_ , Sasori snarled to himself. "I apologize for not fitting your merchant's appearance criteria," Sasori said sarcastically. Kuri glared daggers at him and Daishi watched nervously.

"Eh," Daishi interrupted, but was lost in his master's sudden tension. "Kuri-sensei, we should probably leave soon if we want to make it to Kirigakure by dark…"

Kuri fixed his cold eyes upon Daishi. "We shouldn't go to Kirigakure. That's just stupid in these times."

"But…"

"What?"

Daishi thought, frowning. "Osamu-san seemed pretty curious about the sea. And I'm pretty sure Ginji-san has never even seen the ocean before. They have the potential to become passionate about it."

"Open your eyes. These rag-dolls aren't even capable of having passion," Kuri said snottily. Sasori gritted his teeth and Deidara looked about ready to snap the boy's neck. Sasori hoped that Deidara refrained from doing so for his own sake.

"I apologize, my master isn't too good at meeting new people," Daishi muttered quickly to Sasori and Deidara bowing. Sasori nodded at Daishi and Deidara continued to stare blood-thirstily at Kuri. "Kuri-sensei, it will give me some good practice. Plus, these boys said that they would pay handsomely."

Kuri snorted. "Bribery. We'll get killed if we go to Kirigakure. Unless these boys are stupid or from Kirigakure, they wouldn't be going there. Especially not to trade. I suggest you two run along before you scurrying little rats get eaten."

"We're not from Kirigakure," Sasori said honestly. Kuri raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Sasori noticed that it was pierced.

"Then please enlighten me – what could you possibly want in Kirigakure? I'm pretty sure that trade is not one of your options."

"Alright," Sasori said sighing. He paused and both Daishi and Deidara looked at him with confusion. "We're looking for someone."

"Oh?" Kuri asked.

"You see… Ginji here has a wife in Kirigakure. Ever since the village has isolated itself from the rest of the world, he hasn't been able to see her. They had been writing letters to each other, but one day… the letters stopped. Ginji wrote and wrote to her, but never got a reply. It was all so sudden. We're very worried about her and thought that it would be best to come and see her personally. So, Ginji and I traveled all the way from Iwagakure, only to find out what has happened to Kirigakure. The state of the village worries us and we're desperate to enter and find Ginji's wife, no matter what it takes."

No one spoke for a while. Deidara stared sullenly at the ground and Sasori looked at Kuri hopefully. Daishi looked incredibly touched and fiddled awkwardly. Kuri just looked angry. "I see," Kuri said quietly. Sasori wasn't sure if he bought the story or not.

"Well, that's quite an honorable feat, Ginji, traveling across the world just to see if your wife is okay. You must be worried sick," Ginji said hazily, contemplating the situation with a stubborn look on his face. He didn't look the least bit moved by Sasori's made up story. "You must love her."

"I do," Deidara lied strongly. Kuri nodded.

"With a story like that, I can tell that you boys aren't going to take no as an answer unless I get you two to Kirigakure. It would be bothersome to watch you two get into trouble from scrambling around asking the other sailors to hitch you a ride, so you might as well come along. The pay will have to be pretty handsome, though."

Sasori smiled graciously. He still had no idea whether or not Kuri believed him, but at least he was playing along. More importantly, he and Deidara were going to Kirigakure at last. Sasori pulled out a very generous amount of money for Kuri. Kuri stared transfixed at the money with slight curiosity. He then took it and went off towards his boat.

"Come on, then," he said, looking behind him. Daishi was already tagging along behind him like a small child. Sasori glanced at Deidara, who looked annoyed, and followed Kuri too his boat.

"Next time someone says I'm not passionate about someone, they're going to get blown to smithereens, un," Deidara growled quietly into Sasori's ear as they walked. Sasori shrugged.

"Remember to be on high alert. I don't think he bought my story and seems pretty skeptical of us, so anything could happen. Besides, we're treading into dangerous territory here," Sasori whispered. Deidara nodded, with a bored sigh.

The four men embarked the small ship. The second Sasori stepped foot onto the boat, he felt that it was much harder to keep his perfect balance than before. Ironically, it was almost if he had transformed into a completely different person. Kuri seemed to change, too. He stood up a bit straighter and smiled more. The arrogant smirk across his face told you that he knew he was in charge now. Kuri now felt in control, unlike how he felt on land. Daishi seemed to go through a similar transformation of exaltation. Deidara, on the other hand, looked as bored and annoyed as ever, completely unaffected by the small boat.

"I don't see why we couldn't just walk across the water with chakra, un," Deidara hissed into Sasori's eye. Sasori glared at him warningly to shut up. Deidara sighed and slumped around to the mast of the boat and leaned on it. He crossed his arms and scanned the area with a frown.

Sasori fought to make himself look stable as he glued himself to the edge of the ship. Kuri glanced at him and snickered, shaking his head before walking off casually to get the boat ready. Sasori heaved himself down to sit on the deck, feeling wobbly. He watched Kuri prepared the boat. Sasori was surprised at the man's strength for having such a short and slender build. It was impressive to see him gracefully going about his way.

Sasori glanced at Daishi again and had to do a shocked double take. He had previously speculated that he had known Daishi before, but now he was absolutely positive that he knew Daishi. Sasori stared at him, trying to figure out how he knew the boy. It was hard to describe, but Sasori definitely knew this man very well. He didn't look entirely familiar, but the way he composed himself – especially now that they were on the sea – reassured Sasori. Staring, Sasori decided to keep quiet about his speculation until he could better confirm it. Sasori snatched a look at Kuri, but found that it definitely wasn't the same feeling. Kuri's movements were skillful and agile, while Daishi's were rough, strong, yet somehow graced with ability.

 _Just who is he?_ , Sasori thought with a deep frown. It was driving him crazy, itching at the deepest depths of his stressed mind. Sasori stared longer at the boy, not taking his sharp eyes off of him, as if it would suddenly occur to him who Daishi was. Sasori was pretty sure it was someone obvious that he had just forgotten about.

"Osamu!" Deidara yelled. Sasori snapped out of his trance and looked up at Deidara. He was annoyed that the younger towered over him while he was sitting, so Sasori stood up so that he could almost match him.

"What…?"

"You seem pretty intent with your staring, un. Looking at the clouds?"

"No."

"What then?"

Sasori locked his eyes on Daishi with a calm expression on his face. Deidara looked at him. Sasori was glad that both Daishi and Kuri were busy at work. "Don't you think Daishi looks… extremely familiar?"

Deidara looked at Daishi long and hard, watching him skeptically. "Not really."

"Don't look at him. Look at the way he carries himself."

Deidara looked again, getting bored. "You're paranoid, un."

Sasori sighed. "You just don't pay attention to details, brat." Deidara shrugged and strolled off as if he owned the small boat. Sasori leaned carefully on the edge of the boat and look at the sky, glancing at Daishi every so often.

 _Could it be… Itachi?_  Sasori thought as he stared hugely at Daishi, this time as a hungry vulture would look at a freshly killed animal feast. Sasori stared at Daishi, but nothing about the boy reminded him of Itachi at all. Stumped, Sasori decided to momentarily give up on trying to find out who Daishi was and if he knew him. He had to focus on the mission and not getting killed or ambushed on his way to Kirigakure – which was a very likely scenario.

Feeling defeated and mentally exhausted, Sasori sat down again and rested on the side of the small boat. He put a lot of effort into trying to forget about his mission, Kirigakure, and most of all, the one supposedly called Daishi.


	4. Chapter 4

The night went by and Kirigakure was nowhere to be seen. Sasori had no way to judge whether or not they were getting close to the designated area or not. He hoped that Kuri was in fact leading them to Kirigakure and not some random island in the middle of the Land of Water. Sasori huffed painfully and looked into the dim fog with a bleak expression on his face. Kisame wouldn't let Kuri lead him and Deidara somewhere crazy, would he?

With a snort, Deidara shot awake and groaned slightly. He stared into the deck of the ship that his face was currently pressed up against. Deidara looked moderately confused and his body felt hard and painful from the uncomfortable sleeping position. Deidara mumbled under his breath before heaving himself up. He stumbled blindly and drunkenly over to where Sasori was sitting. Sasori watched him carefully with utmost curiosity.

"We're still not there yet?" Deidara mumbled in his brain-dead state of restlessness. He stretched his back and cracked his fingers.

Sasori merely shrugged and Deidara slid down the side of the boat into a sitting position with a thud. He buried his head in his knees, groaning. "I didn't sleep at all, un," Deidara complained. His voice was barely audible, muffled by his knees that his face was planted in.

Sasori shrugged again. "Don't complain about it to me, brat," he said coldly.

Deidara sulked childishly and shrugged Sasori away. Sasori took the time to inspect the ominous area around him. He could tell that the fog was clearing up a bit — if not the only reason being that the sun was about to rise. The boat calmly trudged along the rocky waters and Sasori could see a slumped over figure at the head of the boat. The wind air was chilly and the ocean was calm, but there was no sign of sunlight ever showing its sorry face again from what Sasori could tell.

"Well, you two are up early," Daishi noted, snapping Sasori out of his trance and inspecting a disgruntled-looking Deidara. Deidara scowled and put his head back in his knees with an immature groan and curse.

"I didn't sleep," Sasori said with a thin trace of a smirk riding across his cracked lips.

"Figures," Daishi said, amused. "I suppose since you two are up, you can eat breakfast."

"I'll pass," Sasori said monotonously. Deidara, however, perked up a bit even though he still looked like death. He lifted his head and straightened his hunched-over shoulders a bit and peered at Daishi suspiciously, much like a cat. Daishi eyed him smugly and tossed him a frightening-looking piece of hardtack. Deidara somehow caught it with his delayed drunken reflexes and inspected the parcel.

"I'm not trying to poison you, I'm a friend," Daishi said, smiling. Deidara pierced Daishi with an threatening glare. His gaze returned to the inedible-looking hardtack. Deidara cautiously bit into it.

Sasori watched Deidara hazily. "He is a friend," he reinforced flatly. "A lucky kind of friend to find in these parts." Sasori's words reeked with hints to fill in Deidara with everything that he had missed.

Deidara raised an eyebrow and took a good look at Daishi. "I thought there was something fishy about you, un."

"I hope that pun was intended," Daishi murmured with a faint cringed.

Deidara blinked at Daishi, who flashed his signature shark fangs with a gigantic smile.

"Oh," Deidara said nonchalantly. "Well, what do you know." He took a forceful bite out of the hardtack he was eating graciously.

"You don't seem surprised either. Aren't you glad to see me?" Daishi asked. His shoulders dropped slightly and he shifted where he was standing. Restless, Sasori assumed.

Deidara took a humongous bite out of his food. "I'm hungry, un. And wet and fucking cold," he complained bitterly. "I want to get to Kirigakure like we should have forever ago, un."

Daishi flashed the younger an amused grin. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. You're turning into Sasori."

Sasori shot Kisame an intimidating look that asked, 'Is it really worth it?' Deidara simply grumbled and painfully devoured the rest of his hardtack in one last, savoring gulp. Deidara hated the food, but at least it was food. Sasori slumped over, diminishing his once perfect posture. "Where's Kuri?"

"Trying to navigate through this godforsaken fog, I would guess," Daishi answered in a matter-of-fact tone that struck Sasori as annoying. Sasori frowned.

"To where?"

Daishi's smug grin evaporated. "Hopefully to Kirigakure. But with this fog... there's no telling where we're actually going." He instinctively lowered his voice. "I'd keep your defenses high right now —- stay with Deidara. Kuri's a pretty paranoid guy already, but with you two here..."

"Didn't you used to live in Kirigakure? Can't you tell where we are or how close we are?"

"I don't have a built-in radar," Daishi growled, shifting his weight to the other side of his body. "I don't have a clue where we are in this fog. That's what makes finding Kirigakure so hard in the first place, even when the weather permits it."

Sasori did not respond. Instead he watched the entire scene exquisitely as Kuri began to approach him, Daishi, and Deidara. He had a grave expression on his face, showing no nonsense. Sasori watched him curiously and Daishi turned around, smiling obliviously to his master.

"Good morning, sensei," Daishi greeted. Kuri looked at him like he had sprouted a third arm. Daishi backed down, slightly nervous. Kuri had a hard, dangerous look in his eyes that made Sasori and Deidara tense. The two watched him like hawks from their sitting positions, ready for anything.

"It seems that we're lost," Kuri said bluntly, closing his eyes with annoyance. Sasori continued to be defensive and Deidara let out an annoyed huff. "If we have any chance of getting back on course, we're going to have to stop the boat until most of the fog clears up."

Sasori resisted the itching urge to argue with the so-called captain's navigation skills, but held back. He instead nodded calmly. "I understand," he said softly.

"It might be better when the sun rises. That is, if it hasn't already — it's hard to tell," Kuri added, looking up to the sky with remorse.

"How do you get lost in an ocean you should be so familiar with?" Deidara breathed bitterly. Kuri shot him a painstakingly long glare that Deidara matched.

"I can toss you off the side of this goddamn boat into the ocean if that's what you want.  _I'm_  the one taking you to Kirigakure even though their practically at war with the rest of the world. Be grateful, you senseless bastard!" Kuri exploded all of the sudden. His intense reaction caused Daishi to cringe and left Deidara surprised. Kuri stormed off, thundering down loudly on the deck as he left.

"What an attitude, un," Deidara muttered, still slightly alarmed.

Sasori made a face. "Try not to piss off key people in missions, Deidara. Especially ones that have the upper ground."

"How does he have the upper ground, un? We're Akatsuki."

"Don't get so cocky. We have no idea who it is we're dealing with and what type of allies he may have. Kisame said that he was a high ranking infiltrator. Plus, we're on his turf, he has the element of surprise and could very well be leading us into a well thought out trap or ambush."

"Fair enough, un," Deidara said, nodding. "I say we get the hell out of here as soon as possible, then."

Sasori did not reply immediately. "We can't just run off. He'll definitely chase us and we're at a major disadvantage because we have no idea where we are. This fog doesn't help, either."

"Do you know how easy it would be to escape because we have no idea where we are and because there's fog, un? Plus, I could make a bird for —"

"There's no way in _hell_ I'm riding on one of those maniacal creatures," Sasori snapped.

"Jeez, alright, un," Deidara replied sheepishly. "But, really. It would be really hard to track anybody in fog like this. Plus, we won't leave much of a trail, considering that we're in the middle of the ocean, un."

It was odd hearing Deidara go against the tactics of his master. Sasori knew that his typical intimidation on people did not affect Deidara in the slightest, so he thought nothing of it. It was just strange to Sasori to have someone argue something with him.

"I don't know, Deidara... it sounds too risky. We could be putting Kisame in danger and we could run straight into a trap. Also, we have no idea what kind of abilities Kuri has. Maybe he can track us through this fog. We're going to stay on this boat for now."

"That isn't going to get us anywhere, un," Deidara sighed.

"Well, you're going to have to deal with it. We'll get there eventually."

"Says Sasori, the most impatient person on earth, un?" Deidara scoffed. Sasori exhaled, annoyed. Before he could open his mouth to scold Deidara, a loud crack and thud was heard. The boat creaked and tried to settle itself again. Sasori and Deidara immediately snapped into battle mode and looked around the area. Both of them were so instinctively silent that they could not hear the other's breath, or Deidara's pounding heard. The waves silently crashed against the upset boat.

Sasori pursed his lips together and strained his ears for any signs of attack. He felt as though he was the center of things and everything that happened around him in any direction at the moment would be slaughtered dead with a knife to the throat. Sasori closed his eyes and rose quickly from where he had been sitting. He cautiously crept to where the noise had been heard. Deidara did not move and Sasori understood — the boy was not fit for stealth. The booming sounds of his obnoxious footsteps made Sasori wonder why the boy had even passed the Academy.

Sasori continued to make his way towards the source of the sound. The fog made the situation a whole lot creepier, in his opinion and he hoped to the gods that he would find his comrade, Daishi — Kisame — alive and well. Another painstakingly loud thud was heard, this time with a forceful hissing noise. Sasori tensed and readied a kunai, walking faster than he had been before. If things got ugly, he would whip out a summoning scroll to retrieve one of his puppets. Close combat was not one of his greatest strengths, but it would have to do for now.

An alarming, muffled and vengeful outburst of frustration rang through the premise of the boat. Sasori tensed and used this as his chance to snap into the area. He noiselessly ran through the freezing, winded fog and ended up right outside of the captain's quarters of the boat — where Kuri was. Another crash was heard and Sasori confirmed that the reckless inhumane noises were coming from there. Sasori was slightly startled when he found Deidara at the door, too. He must had taken his chances to arrive there once the dramatic noises started to escalate in volume. Deidara's sharp blue eyes were filled with intensity and anger as he pressed his ear to the door.

Deidara shot a look at Sasori — back to the door — and to Sasori again. 'Should we go in?' he mouthed, glaring at the door. A loud slam was heard from within and Sasori felt the sudden urge to crash through the door and snap Kuri's neck. Sasori nodded profusely and readied his kunai for a killing blow. He did not care that this was Kisame's mission or that Kuri may be a valuable source of information to Akatsuki. Kuri was going to die.

Before Deidara could ready himself to kick down the door, it came flying off with a giant slam — from the other side. Sasori immediately dived away for cover and stared intently at the entrance. Without skipping a beat, he flung himself through the doorway and gracefully landed in the room. His eyes darted around the room until he found Kuri. Sasori crashed over a small table in the room to kick Kuri in the stomach to knock him down. As he had analyzed, Kuri easily dodged the attack by jumping away. Sasori sprung up from his missed kick and trusted his kunai where he speculated Kuri's heart would be.

As Kuri dodged the kunai, his eyes widened in surprise and blind rage when he was struck hard in the back of the head by Deidara, who had entered the room. He immediately recovered and began to block Deidara's persistent physical attacks.

Sasori watched the two intently as he waited for an opening. Kuri was obviously a highly skilled ninja that they could definitely have problems with. Sasori was at a disadvantage with no puppets, and Deidara was at a disadvantage because using explosives would be taboo. Not only would it alert everyone — including possible ambushes and enemy reinforcements — that they were there, but it would also blow up the boat. Kuri had to die flawlessly — if they were going to kill him, they would probably have to reveal their true techniques.

Deidara grunted heavily, taking a kick to the chest. Deidara managed to grab Kuri's leg and momentarily twist the enemy to the ground. Sasori saw this as his obvious opening and flashed over to Kuri. He completely pinned him to the ground and readied his kunai for the kill. Kuri looked absolutely furious and was bleeding a bit at the head. This wasn't enough for Sasori — he had to see pain and fear in his enemy's eyes before they died. Sasori soundlessly pressed his poisoned kunai to Kuri's neck and leaned in closer with a wide glint in his eyes. Deidara was breathing harder and prepared himself for any slip-ups Sasori may make.

"I fucking  _knew it!_  You filthy rats, spies!  _Terrorists!_ " Kuri spat, bravely matching Sasori's glare with his own insane look.

"Where's Daishi?"

"How should I know?! What, you want to kill the boy too while you're at it? I can't believe how low you filthy Mist rats can get! Killing innocent civilians! It's  _disgraceful!_ "

Sasori stared at Kuri and hesitated. He thought that they were assassins from Kirigakure. He had no idea that they were Akatsuki or that Daishi was going to kill him. Sasori cracked the smallest hint of a grin. It really was amusing.

"You crazy bastard!" Kuri shouted in disbelief. He squirmed with rage and Sasori numbly swiped his poisoned kunai across his face, cutting through his skin without a second thought. Kuri's eyes immediately widened profusely. The man was blown back with instant agonizing pain and wheezed in a sharp intake of air. It must have taken him every ounce of willpower in his body not to scream. Kuri squeezed his eyes shut and began to sweat heavily.

"See what my poison can do?" Sasori muttered softly, eyes returning to calm. Deidara stared at his master with upending disgust. He hoped that Sasori would finish the job quickly and painlessly — Deidara hated torture. Sasori brushed a porcelain finger over the cowering man's face that was wrinkled from the immense pain from the poison. "You would make a beautiful puppet."

Kuri's eyes cracked open slightly in fear. Sasori smiled, satisfied by the reaction that he wanted to get in the first place. It was funny how enemies who caused him problems could revert to cowering fools after a swipe of his poison and with the brink of life and death in his puppet master hands. Sasori loved to be in control — there was not a situation that could make him happier than he was now. "Shut... u-up," Kuri managed to sputter out.

"Shhh," Sasori hissed forcefully. Kuri took in a jagged intake of breath and glared at Sasori through his pain. "You're my puppet now." Sasori's eyes flashed with maniacal sweetness as he quickly stabbed his poisoned-laced kunai into Kuri's chest. He hoped that Deidara hadn't done too much damage to Kuri — it was hard to tell. The enemy would indeed make a fine puppet.

"Dai — Kisame?" Sasori faintly heard Deidara ask calmly. He continued to concentrate on Kuri, who had immediately began to scream in agony. After only a few seconds, Kuri's screams subsided and his shining eyes went blank. Kuri's body ceased to thrust and squirm and fell flat like a rag doll. He was dead and that was it.

"What...?" Kisame asked Deidara, looking completely baffled. Deidara shrugged.

"We heard loud crashes, thuds, screams, hisses — god knows what — from inside of Kuri's quarters, un. We assumed that you were taking care of him or vice versa, so we decided to check it out." Deidara glanced wearily back into the room at Sasori from the doorway with little interest. "Sasori tortured and killed him and is making him into a human puppet, un. Where were you?"

"I heard the crashes — I got defensive. The next thing I knew when I arrived here, you guys were already beating the shit out of Kuri. I thought that you two attacked him and that's why I heard all of those noises before."

Deidara blinked. He had a frustrated look on his face. "Beats me, un. I suppose it doesn't matter now."

"This doesn't make any sense," Kisame growled. "At least Kuri's dead, but we have to get out of here. Kuri's screams were so loud that they could have alerted the entire nation."

"Hm," Deidara grunted. He peered in at Sasori again, not interested in seeing the sick procedure to make his human puppet. "Sasori Danna, can't you do that another time, un?"

Sasori's interested eyes did not leave the corpse he was working on. He looked dissatisfied at the brutal fact Deidara had placed before him — they had to get out of the area. "I suppose I could summon it away. But I'll need to work on it again very soon while the corpse is still fresh," Sasori said monotonously. Kisame cringed in disgust and Deidara grunted sickeningly.

"Fine, just never talk about it again, un," Deidara pleaded. "And don't do it around me."

"Fair enough," Sasori murmured. He gently glided a bloody hand across the fresh corpse one last time with an irritated look on his face before summoning it away. Sasori's hand's dripped with new blood. Deidara raised an eyebrow at Sasori but said nothing.

Kisame broke the silence. "So, if you two weren't in there making a racket, then who else besides Kuri was? It sounded like he was fighting something."

"Beats me, un," Deidara said, shrugging. "Maybe he just went psycho."

"That's highly unlikely, Deidara," Sasori stated. "Things like that don't just happen randomly."

"I could argue with that, un," Deidara bickered back.

"I agree with Sasori. Something definitely attacked him or he attacked something. But whatever it was appears to not be present anymore and you two completed my mission for me."

"Sorry about that," Sasori apologized. "I hope we didn't rid Akatsuki of a valuable information source."

Kisame shrugged and tilted his head slightly. "Eh, it's not my problem. I would have liked to have known who the guy really was, but it doesn't matter now. He's dead and my mission is complete."

"He was extremely skilled in taijutsu," Sasori observed looking at the floor blankly. "He had an extreme hatred for the people of Kirigakure and also put up a bit of a fight to both of us. Regardless, our tactics skills were still being concealed for the fear of him finding out about us being in Akatsuki, but he was still highly trained."

Kisame shrugged and Deidara stared out of the broken down entrance to the captain's ward out at the sky — or fog covering the sky — anxiously. Sasori let out a mentally exhausted huff. "Let's go," Sasori said, thinking about the pinch of time he was in. If they didn't find a safe area soon, his work in progress would be a complete waste. The corpse would soon begin to decay — the body would bloat and start deteriorating any beauty the man once had. Sasori frowned deeply and headed out of the captain's quarters.

Deidara followed him nonchalantly. "You're covered in blood, un," Deidara stated simply.

"So are you, brat. But you're bleeding."

Deidara instinctively held a cracked hand to his head where he knew had had a bruise. Indeed, he felt the sticky warmth of liquid seep onto his hand. Deidara inspected his hand. It was dyed red from his own blood. "Hn," Deidara grunted in slight annoyance.

"Is that going to hinder you on the way to Kirigakure?" Sasori taunted.

"A little blood never hurt anybody, un!"

Sasori sighed. " _Rain_ , idiot. A little  _rain_  never hurt anybody."

"What difference does it make, un?"

"Quite a bit, actually."

"Well, not to me," Deidara replied, grinning.

"Well that's because you're obviously far too —"

"Guys!" Kisame intervened. "You should probably leave soon like you had intended to do before you started bickering like five-year-olds."

"Should I destroy the evidence, Danna?" Deidara said with an excited grin, immediately changing the subject due to Kisame's logical acknowledgement.

Sasori looked at Deidara. He had the petty happiness that was not much different from a child getting a puppy for his birthday. "Deidara," he sighed. "What don't you understand about the words ambush and stealth?"

"Obviously I don't know what they mean, un. Hey, you get to do your art, so why can't I do mine, un. Plus, it will attract all of the people who possibly are going to attack us to here — not where we're going to be, un."

"Fine, whatever," Sasori said, defeated. His head hurt and he did not want to argue with Deidara at the moment. Time was of the essence.

"Well, that's my cue to leave," Kisame said, not wanting to stick around for the massive explosion. "It was nice seeing some friendly faces."

Sasori nodded at Kisame and his sharp eyes stared in his general direction. Deidara smiled at Kisame. "See you, un."

"I would say good luck on your mission, you two, but... yeah," Kisame said bluntly. "Maybe you'll have a change in heart once you find out... you know." With that, Kisame darted away ninja-style in a flash. Sasori glared intently at where he had been standing moments before. Find out what? Sasori thought brutally. He was furious that Kisame left him at that kind of departure.

Sasori glanced at Deidara, who was smiling like an idiot. The mouths on his hands were chewing clay. He was preparing to blow up the ship. Sasori sighed. "Brat, you're lucky I let you do this. We're going to regret it and the fault will be entirely yours."

"It'll be worth it with the explosion this sucker is going to make, un," Deidara said exuberantly. He beamed at the clay was molding and Sasori couldn't help but crack a tiny smirk at the brat's passion for art. The boy was childish and had some pretty stupid ideas and beliefs, but ironically enough – he knew what to like and what not to like. Deidara knew who to trust and who to disregard.  _Perhaps he wouldn't be as useless as I originally thought,_  Sasori said to himself, watching Deidara happily prepare the detonator that would most likely cause a tsunami. Deidara truly was a curious fellow.


	5. Chapter 5

"Kuri is dead?"

"Yes."

"Can you confirm this?"

Kisame shifted. He didn't have time for this. "Sasori's probably turning his rotting corpse into a part of his collection as we speak," he suggested casually.

Pain's colorless, ringed eyes glared through the darkness, piercing the shark man. "What?" he asked forcefully. Kisame could sense his confusion and raised an eyebrow. He did not want to talk to Pain right now. He wanted to sleep.

"I ran into Sasori and Deidara as they were on their way to Kirigakure. They interfered with my mission and ended up killing Kuri out of self-defense," Kisame explained with emphasized boredom, showing his leader that it was not a big deal. Pain's lack of acknowledgement uncomfortably urged him to continue. Kisame frowned wearily at Pain's emotionlessness. "Kuri thought that they were spies from Kirigakure."

Pain grunted and blinked his cold eyes. "Kuri could have been useful, but will not deny that I'm glad he's dead." Kisame stared at the ground with exhaustion and boredom. He hoped that Pain would not ask for extra details that he did not want to explain, including whatever had provoked Kuri to be hostile in the first place and mostly him finding out about Sasori and Deidara's secret mission.

"Sasori and Deidara," Pain started, speaking the names foreignly. His eyes were glazed with disinterest. "Did they know that they had interfered with your mission?"

"Yes. It took a while, but we saw through each other's disguises," Kisame said, having lost interest in the matter long ago. He grinded his teeth and longed to leave the Akatsuki base or to sleep. Either would be fine for him.

Pain merely grunted. "Who was the one to kill Kuri?"

"Deidara."

A brief, agitated sigh escaped Pain. "Did he do so discretely?"

"Actually, yes," Kisame said, amused. "They tried not to reveal Akatsuki to Kuri as they fought just in case he escaped. Meaning, Deidara didn't blow anything up. Well, for the most part..." Kisame didn't mention Deidara's supid idea of blowing up Kuri's ship and hoped that Pain would not care to ask.

"I see," said Pain in an uninterested voice. His words made it seem like he was interested in the strange events that happened on his mission, but his tone of voice said otherwise. "We'll discuss this later. You may go," Pain stated sourly.

Kisame was nearly out of the door before Pain had opened his mouth to let him leave. He could feel his cold glare stabbing into his back but he smiled, not caring. One day, Pain was going to kill him. Kisame thought that he – and the rest of the Akatsuki – needed to lighten up. There was no fun in being a cold, angsty bitch all of the time. Kisame sighed and slumped through the cold caverns of the Akatsuki base, mentally planning out what he was going to do. First, he would sleep. After that, he would decide what to do next. Kisame grinned but stopped briefly and looked to his right.

It was Itachi's room. It looked barren and haunted even though Itachi had not been gone for too long. The corner of Kisame's lip twitched and he entered the vacant room like a graveyard. He leaned his tall frame on the entrance and peered inside. It was dark and gloomy. Itachi's room was completely in tact except for one thing – Itachi. Somehow, the room had never seemed as vacant as it did now that Itachi was gone.

 _I hope that you know the consequences of what you've done, Itachi,_ Kisame thought gravely. He began to walk away from Itachi's room. "Considering your circumstances, the pros probably outweigh the cons, buddy," he whispered gravely. He continued to walk towards his bedroom to be welcomed by his sweet, sweet bed. He tried to forget about his partner, but could not. Despite his exhaustion, the bitter reminder got him thinking and he knew that he would not be able to sleep well.

* * *

"Katsu!" Deidara shouted. He beamed down at his creation from above. The explosion was earsplitting. Sasori cringed in annoyance and sat calmly on the back of Deidara's clay creation with his arms crossed. Deidara seemed vexed by his own art. He laughed, not daring to peel his eyes away from the creation. The impact of the explosion sent a rapid air current flashing past the two, making their hair go wild. The explosion had disrupted the water and created massive waves that roared through the water. Deidara stared in awe as the fire of his explosion was diminished and eventually eaten by the giant tongue of the ocean. Small scraps of the boat still remained and their fire would die eventually. The deep fog, which now appeared to be black from the smoke, had blurred the explosion, much to Deidara's dismay. Regardless, he seemed satisfied.

"Did you see that, Danna, un?" Deidara asked excitedly, turning to Sasori's sitting form with a maniacal smile. "That was pretty good, wasn't it?"

Sasori grunted. "Let's get to Kirigakure." He peered down through the fog at the aftermath of Deidara's fleeting explosion. He did not see it as impressive as Deidara had found it.

Sasori hated being on Deidara's creations. They felt so flimsy and temporary – which was not a very good feeling when you were hundreds of feet above freezing cold, rocky waters. Sasori hated the fact that he had no control over what Deidara did on the thing – and that  _thing_ also happened to be explosive. Knowing Deidara, he may feel the sudden urge to blow up the clay bird that was currently thinly covering a plummeting, pathetic drop into the ocean. Sasori would kill Deidara if he did such a thing.

"You're no fun, un," Deidara observed, curling his chapped lip. Sasori's sharp eyes trailed down again.

"You wouldn't let me finish  _my_  artwork and it's going to be ruined if I don't work on it soon," Sasori matched coldly.

"Well, you didn't even  _look_  at my art, un."

"You call that art?" Sasori huffed crossly.

Sasori knew that he had hit a nerve in Deidara. "Shut the fuck up, un," he snapped, glaring at Sasori. "Don't you  _dare_  insult my art, un."

"Why not? You trash my art all the time."

"Because it's not even art, un. Art isn't supposed to stick around forever just to rot, un. You have no appreciation for true art, un – my explosions!"

Sasori tensed with rage. "Listen, brat –" Deidara immediately brought his hands up to make a hand sign that Sasori knew all too well. It was the one Deidara used to blow up his clay. Sasori scoffed with anger but quickly shut himself up. He glared at Deidara profusely, not wanting to admit defeat. A devilish, arrogant grin spread across Deidara's face and he turned back around. Sasori continued to glare at him and Deidara ignored him, knowing that he temporarily had an advantage over his master.

"Don't fly directly over the village. We're not risking anything," Sasori muttered murderously. He hated his lack of control over the brat.

"I know, un," Deidara said loudly. He had recovered quickly from his previous rage. Sasori hadn't. "But where am I supposed to land, un?"

"Hell if I know."

Deidara grunted. "I can't see anything and my clay doesn't do so well in water, un."

"Figure something out, then," Sasori said, clenching his jaw together in agitation. He regretted saying that, as Deidara's expression suddenly changed to a look of the terrifying happiness of a stupid idea.

"Alright, un. I've got it," Deidara said sheepishly. His bird dove down, making Sasori's unprepared stomach leap with adrenaline. Sasori instinctively dug his fingers into the the clay and glared at Deidara.

"Do you actually have an idea or are we plummeting to our deaths?" Sasori hissed.

"A mixture of both, un," Deidara replied sarcastically. The bird continued to drop, but at a slower pace then the breakneck speed of before. Deidara seemed to be intently scanning the area. There was no doubt that he was searching for the village. Sasori felt useless. The fog was hindering, but Deidara's eye scope allowed him to see through it. "We're probably going to have to kill some people, un."

"Now, hold on, brat. What don't you understand about _not_ drawing attention to ourselves? You already stretched the limits by blowing up that boat."

"You said to hurry, un. Let me know when you think of the new plan – for now, we're using this one, un," Deidara said stubbornly. Sasori sighed. The bird slowed down significantly and began to level out. Its circling course was gradually leading them downward. "There's Kirigakure, un."

Sasori looked down off the edge of the bird and could barely make out anything. He remained silent and Deidara's eyes were focused downward with the smallest hint of a smirk across his face. He was actually  _enjoying_  this. "Turn into someone else, un," Deidara advised. Sasori obeyed as Deidara swiftly made a well-practiced hand sign and transformed as well. Sasori was slightly irritated at Deidara's reckless plan but could not think of a better one. Admittedly, he wanted to get this over with so that he could finish his beautiful puppet, so tactics weren't his first priority at the moment. But still, they weren't  _invading_  Kirigakure; they were simply trying to get information on their ex-teammate.

Alas, it was too late to strategize. It was just the way Deidara liked it. "Alright, un. For some reason there's a lack of guards at the east gate – three of them, to be exact. I'm going to fly the bird over the east gate and dismiss it, un. We'll surprise attack them and they'll die without us being noticed too much because of the initial shock, un."

Sasori nodded with a cringe. His stressed fingers dug further into the clay bird. He had a feeling that this incredibly stupid plan would fail. But Sasori could do nothing but grasp onto Deidara's dumb luck and prayed that it would do something for them. Deidara's clay bird swooped down for the kill and Sasori braced himself for impact. Deidara had not been too clear on what they were going to do about the bird and he hoped that by dismiss, Deidara did not mean ignite. Deidara would have liked nothing more than a fireworks show to go with hi surprise attack. Sasori sighed.

All of the sudden, Deidara's bird poofed away in a cloud of smoke. They were a lot higher up than Sasori had expected. Sasori pierced his eyes below him and reached for a few shuriken as he fell, preparing himself for a harsh impact and hopefully the death of a few guards. He again thought of how stupid this plan was and raised his brow.

At the first sight of a dark figure that Sasori could assume was a person through the thick fog, Sasori accurately threw his shuriken. A surprised yelp of confusion came from the person, confirming that Sasori had hit his target. Sasori landed on the ground with a graceful thud, landing with his knees bent deeply to thr ground to avoid the shock of the impact. Sasori immediately sprang to his feet and through a kunai directly at his surprised opponent's throat. The poor guy didn't even know what hit him.

Deidara came crashing down from the heavens directly into a gate guard's chest, knocking him out. Without skipping a beat, he leapt from the impact of hitting the guard to lunged himself at the third. The guard looked completely taken aback by shock as Deidara kicked him mindedly in the face and trusted a kunai into his chest. Instantly, the two rushed into the town faster than they had ever gone, trying to blend it. Deidara was smiling, yet out of breath. "That was way too easy, un."

"It's probably not over yet," Sasori said, glancing around with suspicion. "Someone had to have seen that."

"That only took seconds, un," Deidara breathed, still impressed with his perfectly executed stupid idea. Even  _he_  was surprised that it had worked so flawlessly. Deidara glanced behind him to see a ruckus of sudden confusion at the east gate. Their blitzkrieg had definitely worked and they were inside of Kirigakure. "See, un. You need to spend less time thinking, and more time doing, un."

"This isn't over," Sasori grumbled quietly. "I refuse to believe that we got into this city so easily."

Deidara shrugged and glanced around cautiously. The interior of Kirigakure was less than impressive. Deidara had never been there and from the information he had gathered about the place, he hadn't been expecting much. The city was absolutely nothing compared to Iwagakure. The financial differences were clearly visible between the two cities. The thing that struck Deidara the most was the lack of citizens. Almost everyone that he and Sasori passed was a ninja part of the Kirigakure military force. This made Deidara grow uncomfortable at the suspicious glares they were receiving, being disguised as ordinary citizens. Deidara's hard but innocent demeanor made the residents overlook him and Sasori. He was surprised that they had gotten away with the commotion at the gate. People were now running towards the east and shouting angry commands. It was a humiliating and horrifying situation for the people on guard.

"Yeah, we're never going to find Itachi, un," Dediara muttered out of the blue in despair. Sasori eyed him curiously. "Unless he jumps out in the open, clad with his oh-so loved clan symbols and bingo bounty, un."

"We're currently not looking for him, but it would be nice if we were to find him along the way. We're looking for hints of him so that we know where to start looking."

Deidara huffed. "This mission is going to take forever, un. I hope we get lucky."

"So far luck has been on our side."

"So far, un? I think you mean in the past ten minutes." Deidara grinned and stared along the poor street sides. Sasori shrugged, continuing to look around cautiously. All seemed normal, but he did not glace behind him at the east gate. He was too paranoid.

The day crept along slowly. Sasori and Deidara decided to begin their search the next day. They decided to blend in and observe how to blend in well until nightfall, not wanting anyone be any more suspicious of them than they already were. Both men were moderately surprised that it had not been discovered that they had injured the guards at the east gate. From their observations, they found that this was the least of the village's problems. The village was in worse than the outside had guessed. The civilians were ignored and starving and most of the village consisted of frantic cold-faced military.

Luckily, Sasori and Deidara managed to avoid trouble and found a place to sleep behind a small building on the edge of town near the ocean. It was damp and uncomfortable, but neither men cared. Sasori let Deidara curl up in the dry, tight spot right besides the building since he would be the only one sleeping. Sasori did not want Deidara to complain about being tired the next day. Deidara conked out in an instant and Sasori watched him for a while in amazement, wondering how anyone can fall asleep so fast.

Sasori sat on the wet ground near where Deidara was sleeping in the dark alleyway. He listened to the ocean crash violently against the shore in the distance. It was calming, but it annoyed Sasori. He sighed and closed his eyes. After a tranquil few seconds of ignoring the restless sea and Deidara, he remembered his artwork. Cringing, Sasori summoned the corpse on the ground in front of him and began to work.

* * *

The following morning was bleak and gray. The fog never seemed to go away in Kirigakure. Now that Sasori thought about it, the fog was to be expected. They were in the town of Mist. Sasori could make out the sun rising and assumed that it had based on the town stirring in drowsiness. He had completed his puppet the night before and was satisfied. It had turned out quite beautifully. Sasori had to remind himself to work on some of the finer details when he got back to the base.

If he ever got back to base. The dreary looks of their mission showed that they would definitely not be returning home anytime soon.

Sasori walked over to Deidara and lightly tapped him with his shoe like he was an animal carcass. Deidara groaned and shrunk against the dirty wall of the building, muttering something incomprehensible. "I would advise waking up – this place is crawling with ninja and I want to get out of here as fast as possible."

Sasori glanced out of the alley at the foggy, bright passageway, as if telling it that he would be there soon. "Come on, brat." Sasori lightly kicked Deidara and he grumbled angrily.

"You never let me sleep, un," Deidara slurred, sitting up and rubbing his head. He looked like death.

"Excuse me?" Sasori stared, irritable. "I let your lazy ass sleep all the time."

Deidara grunted a meaningless string of words unknown to their language. Sasori ignored him and crossed his arms, attempting to stay in a good mood as he waited for his partner to stop being dramatic and wake up.

Waking up completely had been a hard task, but eventually Deidara was somewhat alert again and the two slipped out of the back alley into the morning traffic. There were barely any people out. The two noticed yet again that the population of the town mainly consisted of people guarding the town. It made Sasori wonder what they were afraid of, after and guarding. But, he could care less. Right now, his focus was on the troublesome mission of finding Itachi.

It irked him that Kisame probably knew exactly how to complete this gigantic mission but would not help him out at all. He knew that Kisame was just trying to protect his friend from death, but he didn't have to dangle pieces of information just out of his reach. Sasori pursed his lips. That was a cruel thing to do but the shark got his entertainment out of taunting and cruelty.

Sasori and Deidara walked. Sasori didn't know where he was going and he could tell that Deidara was itching to ask him. This pissed Sasori off and his upper lip twitched with agitation. Deidara watched him, more blissfully curious than cautious. Sasori knew that he was going to ask him. "Sasori Danna?"

Sasori was right. "No," Sasori snapped harshly. Deidara raised his stiff brow.

"Okay, un," Deidara whined defensively. After hesitating, he ignored Sasori's coldness. "So, where are we going?"

"I don't know," Sasori growled.

Deidara watched him curiously, wondering what he had done to annoy Sasori this time. "Didn't we already go over that aimless travel will get us nowhere and we have to come up with something first, un?" Deidara yapped nonchalantly with the slightest hint of a mock that hit a nerve in Sasori.

Sasori remained calm, knowing that arguing with Deidara was not worth the effort. Deidara would argue with anything. "We did."

"So… why are we doing it, un?"

"Do you have another plan, brat?" Sasori asked. He regretted the words as they came out of his mouth, remembering what happened the last time he had said that. Albeit the plan had worked, but it had been too risky for Sasori's tastes.

Deidara stopped to think. "I'll think of something, un." The blond grinned devilishly.

Sasori suppressed a sigh and eyed Deidara with disgusted irritancy. He said nothing, admitting to himself that Deidara was probably right about this and that he would in fact come up with something that Sasori never would have dreamed of.

"What are you going to do, ask the few civilians that are here if they've seen a wanted S-ranked Akatsuki murderer poking around the friendly neighborhood?"

Deidara contemplated the thought, putting a hand to his chin. Sasori flashed a glare at him. "I was joking, brat."

"I didn't know that you were capable of that, un," Deidara said wispily. A small smirk spread across his face.

"Of course I'm capable of joking, Deidara. It's just like lying."

Deidara snickered. He said nothing more, which told Sasori that his mind had probably wandered to a place that if shared out loud, Sasori would be forced to kill him. Sasori glared at him dirtily, wondering why the young artist could not be intimidated by anything. He didn't see to care about anyone but himself. Arrogant brat.

The two remained silent as they slugged down the dirt path of Kirigakure and inspected the dull environment. "So, what were you thinking of doing, un?"

"I was hoping that something would just pop out at us," Sasori said. "A signal or something."

"Because Itachi can't wait for his ex-teammates and the Hidden Villages to hunt him down and kill him, un!" Deidara exclaimed sarcastically.

"By obvious signal, I meant something that he unintentionally left. We just need the vaguest hint of where he is."

"Kisame seemed to know  _exactly_ where he is, un," Deidara huffed. "Why don't we make him tell us."

"There's no way he would tell us. You know Kisame. He doesn't want to tell us because we're going to kill Itachi."

"That shouldn't matter, un," Deidara kicked a pebbled on the dirt road and watched the trail of dust it made as it tumbled recklessly down the path. "Kisame said he was dying."

Sasori stopped to think. "Deidara, where would you go if you were dying?"

Deidara halted with Sasori and thought hard about his question. "I'd probably just stay in Akatsuki, un. I have no reason to leave."

"Itachi must have had a pretty good reason to leave, then," Sasori concluded.

"Maybe, un. He was acting pretty weird before he left."

Sasori pondered the thought. His head hurt. He wished that Kisame would have just told him where Itachi was instead of dropping critical hints. Sighing, Sasori continued to walk to wherever his feet would take him. He could hear Deidara dragging behind him. "I'm stumped," Sasori admitted without bothering to look at his partner.

Deidara hesitated. "Maybe Itachi was here, un. Maybe we'll find something."

"Maybe," Sasori murmured. Nothing made sense anymore. This whole mission was a complete mess. He wished that he could find a logical link to all of the things he knew about Itachi.

* * *

Waking up to the scent of fresh grass and herbs felt strange, but something about it today felt right. Shifting, the man shifted out of his slumber and cracked open his heavy, delicate lids. They focused on something brightly colored in front of him. The sideways image looked odd to him. He stared at it curiously, wondering what it was in his hazy tiredness. He did not want to get up. He felt perfectly peaceful the way he was and did not want to disturb this peace, so he stayed still and stared at the brightly colored object in front of him with slight curiosity.

The eccentric smell of herbs was strong in the air. He didn't have a preference regarding the smell, but it admittedly made everything feel more cozy. The man closed his dark eyes again and did not move. It was bright outside and the birds were loud, signifying that it was morning. Another day. Ignoring his protesting muscles, the man groaned and carefully sat up, ignoring the blanket that fell helplessly onto his lap. His long, dark hair cascaded over his face as he looked again at the curiously colored object. His vision was dying – it was his own fault.

The man coughed, cleared his hoarse throat but remained silent. A rush of memories that were previously forgotten by the innocence of his unconsciousness came to him. He was not safe – most of the world wanted him dead. Now, even his old teammates of Akatsuki probably wanted him dead. Itachi was surprised that they had not found him yet.

Akatsuki. Itachi thought about the word with a hard look on his face as he listened to the tranquil sound of the forest and felt the grass. The word seemed foreign and distant, like a fading scent that would soon be forgotten. It didn't matter.

Itachi lay back down in the soft grass, longing for midday. He knew that it was too early to be awake because of the lack of people disturbing the tranquility of the forest. Instead, they brought a different kind of piece that could not be found in nature. Itachi wanted to feel this warmness but would have to wait. He coughed again, feeling the burning and violent tearing in his decaying lungs. Itachi closed his eyes. It hurt, but at least he was happy.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been days since the two artists had arrived in Kirigakure and neither of them had found anything useful on the whereabouts of their missing teammate. The days started to become a worthless patrolling routine more so than a productive search. Something in the back of Sasori's mind nagged him to give up. He ignored it, having this feeling that there was something waiting to be found in the dephs of Kirigakure. Pain had not given them a time limit. They had all the time in the world to find their missing friend.

Well, until he died. According to a certain shark-like ninja, his time was nearing.

 _God damn it,_  Sasori's troubled thoughts hissed.

"Your instincts suck, un," Deidara crooned, crossing his arms with a stubborn glint in his eyes that made Sasori want to scowl. His hard face remained expressionless and he ignored Deidara. "Why don't we look somewhere else, un? And by somewhere else, I mean  _Konohagakure_. Wouldn't that make more sense, un?"

"He was here, Deidara. We need to find out where he went from here or if he even left."

"Keyword:  _was_  here. In the past, un. Not current. So why are we here, un?" Deidara questioned sharply, glaring at his partner while they walked back to their base of a back alley. He was sick and tired of this boring, damp, military town. Deidara stared worthlessly at the grimy buildings lining the symmetrically paved streets of the town that he had grown to despise over the past couple of days. The artist made a mental note to blow the place to smithereens at some point in the near future.

Sasori curled his lip. "We need a lead, Deidara. We can't just blindly chase after him. It's  _Itachi._ "

"Aren't we blindly chasing him right now, danna?" Deidara muttered, throwing his concentration to the back alley they had arrived by. "And last time I checked, dead people don't need to be chased very far, un. You forgot to factor in that he's kicking the bucket, un."

Sasori knew that and grimaced. Itachi dying made everything more complicated. One would think that it would make tracking easier, but proved to be a hindrance when you wanted the captured target to be up and kicking for interrogation.

"If we find out where he went from Kirigakure we can easily find him," Sasori grumbled, resting his head against the grungy concrete building in the alley. He slid down until he was sitting against the wall and adjusted himself to moderate comfort.

Deidara remained standing. His blue eyes flickered with perky annoyance. "Can we just go to Konohagakure, un? That would be a lot more logical than  _this_  godforsaken place, un. Itachi used to live there. Who knows, he might be after that brother of his or something, un."

Sasori stared at the paint-chipped wall behind Deidara. He had never put the other remaining Uchiha into the equation. "His brother isn't in Konohagakure. He's in the bingo book with us now - a missing nin."

Deidara's eyebrows met and he let out a 'tsk' of annoyance. He tried to think of something else to say, but he was stumped. Itachi could be anywhere. There was a long silence between the two. Sasori sat in useless contemplation and Deidara paced around the dark alley restlessly, growing more and more agitated by the second. The lack of a logical conclusion made him want to blow something up. Particularly the town they were currently in.

Deidara stopped pacing and sighed. "Danna, un?" he called, breaking the silence. He hoped that his unpredictable partner wouldn't get too mad at him if he had interrupted the puppeteer's deep train of thought.

"What?" he grumbled dryly.

"If we don't leave Kirigakure by dawn tomorrow, I'm going to look for Itachi myself, un. Sorry, but I can't take this town anymore, un."

Sasori didn't make the effort to cast Deidara a mere glance. "Suit yourself. I would not advise doing so."

Deidara shrugged and wandered out of the alley, getting too restless and irritated to stay there any longer. Sasori wasn't helping with the situation and was certainly taking his precious time to come up with something. For someone so impatient, it was a wonder that he hadn't thought of an emergency back-up plan of sorts earlier.

Wandering through the tiny town was something Deidara had regrettably grown accustomed to over the past few days in a pathetic attempt to kill his steaming hot boredom. It was safe since he was still in disguise, but people had begun to recognize his alias. Being recognized in a nonthreatening way made him a tad bit weary, even though he knew that they were oblivious. Their stares blazed through him like they knew the truth. Deidara had come to accept paranoia as a good thing and shrugged it off. Deidara stuffed his hands in his pockets walked around.

Nobody had questioned him yet, which was good. Their violent infiltration into the town had somehow gone flawlessly. Deidara still couldn't believe it but he was not complaining.

"Looking for something?" a tiny voice piped.

It had taken Deidara a few good moments to realize that the person being addressed was himself. Deidara turned with a scowl to his addressee and saw a little girl with bright, shining eyes staring up at him. It had been apparent that she had been following him. Deidara stared down at her.

"I am looking for something, un."

"What are you looking for?" she asked innocently. Deidara kept walking and the little girl trotted closely behind, stumbling ever so often to keep up with his long stride.

Deidara sighed. "I don't know, un." The little girl pushed a clump of her filthy hair out of her eyes and stared at Deidara in a way that made him cringe.

"How do you not know what you're looking for?" she demanded to know.

"Because I don't know where to look, un," Deidara answered, getting annoyed.

"You should know what you're looking for before you go to look for it, mister," the small girl advised, a sarcastic tone creeping through her underdeveloped voice. Deidara kept walking, hoping that she would give up on her little interrogation soon.

"Is it a place?" the girl guessed.

"No."

"A lost pet?"

"No, un."

"Your girlfriend?"

" _No._ "

"Food?"

Deidara bit his lip hard and stopped answering the nagging kid's questions. "Will you leave me alone, un? I can't think."

"I can help you find it," the litte girl chatted, having no intention of leaving him alone.

"I don't need help, un."

"Then why haven't you found it?"

"Smart-ass," Deidara muttered.

"You said a bad word!" the girl wailed, punching Deidara on the back of his leg. Deidara resisted the urge to kick her away.

"Don't you have anything better to do, un? Why don't you bother someone else?" Deidara asked snootily. "I'm busy, un."

"I'm good at finding things," the little girl said, eyes sparkling with youth. Deidara's lip twitched and he stared at the road before him again.

"Good for you, un."

"You don't seem to be so good finding things, mister. Unlike me. Lotsa people come to this town looking for things, you know."

"Uh-huh," Deidara growled dryly. He gave his temples a much-needed rub and tried to suppress the pulsing headache he was getting.

"So that's why I'm here! I help people find things," she said proudly, catching up to Deidara like a puppy and even trying to run in front of him a bit to catch his full attention. Deidara marched on with a hard look on his face.

"Let me know if you've seen a tall, skinny guy with long-ass raven black hair in a ponytail with girly blood-red eyes. Oh yeah, and he's dying, un," Deidara described sarcastically. People like Itachi and himself didn't run around without a flawless disguise. They were wanted criminals with beautiful amounts of ryo on their heads. Prancing around in a body worth millions dead was not the best idea.

"Hmmm," the little girl thought. "You were lying. You did know what you were looking for after all!"

Deidara didn't respond, picking up his already hurried pace in an attempt to lose the annoying kid without attracting negative attention from the military by punching her face in. He was now walking down the moderately crowded and colorful market district. Crowded in Kirigakure meant approximately fifteen civilians in total.

"And I  _have_ seen that guy you're looking for, by the way!"

"Uh-huh," Deidara hummed, scanning the market. "I'm sure you have."

"Yup," she proclaimed. "He was here a while ago. He seemed to be looking for something, too."

"Of course, un," Deidara said with a matching scowl and eye roll. "Everyone in this town is looking for something. You said so yourself, un. Right?"

"That's right!" the girl said, beaming. She did not seem to catch on to Deidara's sarcasm and burning urge to kill her if she kept talking. "He had a funny name, too." The girl giggled to herself.

Deidara raised an eyebrow. "What was his name?"

"I-ta-chi," the girl said giddily, panting slightly in her effort to keep up with the man. Deidara nearly had a heart attack. His eyes widened profusely and he stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around to face the little girl in disbelief. There was no way in  _hell_ that Itachi would have just given out his name. Without any sort of a disguise, too! There was definitely something wrong. Deidara gaped at the girl, all disinterest gone. He crouched to the ground and gave her his undivided attention, despite the fact that they were standing in the middle of the market walkway.

"What was he looking for? When was this, un?" Deidara spluttered out, firmly grabbing the girl by her shoulders and shaking her.

"Hmm... my memory is a bit hazy..." the girl murmured fakely. Her eyes wandered away from Deidara, who glared daggers at her.

"Look, un. You need to tell me _everything_  that happened with that guy right now, un," Dediara threatened murderously, giving her a dirty look. "This isn't a game, un."

"Well, mister. There's a lot of people that come and go from this town. It's hard for me to remember specific people without a little bit of payment in return..." the girl said, eyeing Deidara sadly. Her eyes crept greedily down to his pockets. His ryo.

Deidara sighed in aggravation. He couldn't believe he was letting this little girl take his ryo just like that. "Fine," he snapped. Deidara pulled out a few ryo from his front pant pocket and held the coins out the girl. Before she could snatch them away, Deidara pulled his hand into a protective, tight fist and swiftly brought it to his chest.

"You tell me first, then I'll give you the money, un. I don't feel like chasing you across town because you ripped me off, un."

The little girl looked less than pleased, but eyed Deidara's fist hungrily. "Fine. The guy you're looking for came around town a week or so ago. He never came out into the streets and hung around the back alleys. The guy seemed really sick and he had a friend with him who always was yelling at him and whispering and stuff."

"A friend, un?" Deidara muttered, recording everything this girl said into his brain permanently. It couldn't have been someone with Akatsuki.

"Yup. His friend was scary, so I waited until she went away to ask him what he was looking for."

She? Deidara had no idea who this 'friend' of Itachi's was. Deidara's expression fell. "Do you just go around town asking that to everyone, un?"

"Yeah.  _Anyway,_ the guy was kinda angry like you, only he seemed nicer," the girl continued.

"Hey, un!" Deidara snapped in fury.

"Do you want me to tell you about him or not?"

Deidara sneered and shut up.

"Like I was  _saying..._ they guy just blabbed about how what he was looking for was none of my business, but that it would make him happy. When I talked to him some more, he finally admitted that he was looking for a person, just like you were looking for him."

"Did he say who he was looking for, un?" Deidara asked, thrilled and shocked that he was actually getting information. From a random little girl of all people. It could be false information, but that would have been an insane coincidence. Still, if this was the Itachi he was looking for, it would make no sense that he was going around blabbing about his identity to random strangers. It wasn't a secret that he was a wanted S-ranked criminal.

"Nope, I was gonna ask him, but his mean friend came around and starting freaking out that I was there with him, so I ran away," the girl said with a tiny frown etched onto her dirty face.

"You said his mean friend was a she?" Deidara asked rhetorically. "What did she look like, un?"

"I dunno," the girl started, thinking. "She was blond," she offered lamely.

Deidara frowned at the little girl's lack of information on the person Itachi appeared to be traveling with. "Did he say where he was headed, un?"

"Nope," she said simply. Deidara huffed in frustration. "He was too sick to tell me much."

"Did he give any sort of  _indication_  to where he was headed, un?" Deidara coaxed.

"It didn't look like he was going far. Like I said, he was pretty sick."

"How sick is 'pretty sick', un?"

The girl shifted. "He was paler than this," she said, stretching her dirty, white dress in comparison to Itachi's skin tone. "He was bleeding a lot, too."

"Bleeding, un," Deidara repeated blankly. All of his hope that Itachi was alive was going down the drain. It didn't sound like he would live another few hours based on her description, and it had been a week or so since he was in Kirigakure. "Where was he bleeding, un?"

"Mostly out of his mouth," the girl said innocently, pointing into her open mouth as if Deidara was a dentist. Deidara curled his lip.

"But that girl seemed to be taking good care of him," she added quietly in response to Deidara's sudden crestfallen attitude.

Deidara drummed his fingers to his side. "Anything else?"

"He seemed pretty upset that he could not find that person he was looking for. That's about it," the little girl droned. She quickly held out her hands for her payment and smiled. Deidara stared at her grubby little hands, in a trance. The amount of information he had received seemed almost too good to be true even though he still had no idea where Itachi was.

"Thanks, un," Deidara muttered, dropping a generous amount of ryo in the girls open palms. She grinned widely and skipped off into the market. Just like that, she was gone. Deidara was still shocked. Why would Itachi just expose himself that much? Was he giving up because he was sick and dying? According to that little brat he had just talked to, he seemed pretty desperate to find a certain person.

 _His brother, perhaps?_ Deidara thought to himself as he made his slow, trudging way back to the back alley where he had left Sasori.  _But that wouldn't make any sense._

Deidara wondered why he cared about sense anymore. It made no sense that Itachi had been in Kirigakure  _exposing himself_  in the first place. Maybe Sasori's instincts weren't as rusty as he had thought them to be. He hurried back to the spot they had been staying at so that he could repeat word for word the information he had been given while it was still perfectly in tact in his mind. Deidara tried not to distract himself with other thoughts as he numbly made his way to his partner.

"Sasori, you'll never believe this, un," Deidara said breathlessly as he turned the corner into the back alley where Sasori was. Unfortunately, Sasori wasn't there. Deidara stared blankly at the spot he had been sitting that morning. Nothing.

Not wanting to engage in a demented and frantic game hide-and-go-seek, Deidara plopped to the ground and waited.

"Deidara?"

Deidara was startled for the second time that day. He lashed his head around to the deeper part of the back alley and found Sasori sitting there, quiet as can be. "I have a lot to tell you, un."

"As do I," Sasori replied. Deidara made his way back to where Sasori was sitting. He looked terrible, but Deidara's curiosity could wait. He was sure that what he had to say was more important.

"It's about Itachi, un."

Sasori blinked and sat up straighter, surprised. "Go on."

Deidara told him everything that had happened, not leaving out the less interesting parts about the little girl who had annoyed the crap out of him. Sasori stared hollowly ahead but listened, expression unchanging. Deidara wondered what had happened during his patrol around town.

After Deidara had told him the information that he had received from the little girl, the two stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Deidara shifted uncomfortable and eventually sat down facing Sasori. There was no room to sit beside him and he didn't want to sit in the dark, damp, unknown.

"I think you got us more lost than before, Deidara. That just... doesn't seem right."

"I know, un. It might be nothing. But it's too weird to be a coincidence, un."

"It might be a trap," Sasori murmured. "Something doesn't seem right. Itachi would not do that, even if he is dying."

"But we still don't know of his whereabouts, un. But you should tell me what you were going to tell me, un," Deidara requested curiously.

Sasori sighed. "It doesn't matter now that you've told me what happened to you."

"Yes it does, un!"

Sasori ignored his partner. "You said that he was staying in the back alleys like we are. Perhaps it was this one."

"Maybe, un," Deidara said, glaring at Sasori for not telling him what happened while he was away. It was obviously something big.

"We should search it thoroughly."

Deidara groaned. "Fine, un. Are we going to look for Itachi's spilled and dried throat-blood spelling out 'I'm going to Konoha', un?" he asked sarcastically.

Sasori did not acknowledge his partner and began to turn the corner of the place inside out. Deidara found it hard to do the same. "This is useless, un. We might as well leave Kirigakure since we know for sure that he left, un."

"We don't know that Deidara. You're assuming that."

"Well, where would he be, un? There's not many places someone who's seconds away from dying can hide, un. I'm really not sure why you're so set on finding him here, un," Deidara argued.

Sasori stopped his search. "Fine, let's go then," he growled abruptly, making his to the entrance of the back alley.

Deidara stared at him with a confused look. "Really, un?"

"Yes, let's go. You're right," Sasori said, annoyed. "There's nothing more we can do here, and I want you to stop complaining about it."

"... Alright, un."

Deidara knew that there was obviously something Sasori was hiding from him that most likely had to do with events that happened while he was away. Frowning Deidara followed Sasori, hoping that he would tell him what had happened when he was ready.

The two exited the back alley like two grimy rats from a sewer, cautious and distrusting. Deidara was disappointed that they still had no idea where Itachi was, even though some of the large cracks in the cement had been patched. If it really had been a week since Itachi was in Kirigakure, he could be  _anywhere_. Yeah, he was sick, but he seemed to have a perfectly able and somewhat vicious traveling buddy, who could drag him along if she felt the need to. The little girl said that this mysterious 'friend' of Itachi's was taking care of his dying self.

After a heated debate, the two had decided on going to the Land of Fire. It was a vast country, but it was also, according to Deidara, the most populous. (Sasori did not argue with Deidara on this one, not seeing the point in doing so.) Itachi was also born there and he was looking for someone important to him. Deidara came to the conclusion that he had known whoever he was looking for before he joined Akatsuki, therefore the most probable place them being would be the Land of Fire - where Itachi grew up.

Sasori and Deidara had compromised on transportation - they would ride over the ocean with one of Deidara's clay abominations. The second they hit the shoreline, they were to travel by foot and search for any sort of sign of Itachi until they reached a safe distance from the perimeter of Konohagakure. The plan had loose ends after that and they would go along with what seemed fit.

The two artists made their leave at nightfall, leaving no room for sleep, to Deidara's annoyance. It was going to be a long journey. He was just happy to finally get out of Kirigakure.

* * *

The soft music was hypnotising, calming. Itachi hated it and its strange effects on him. He sat with half-lidded eyes, listening. Itachi did not know if the sound was real or not, nor did he care. Nothing seemed real anymore, so he disregarded reality all together to make things more bearable.

"What's wrong, Itachi?" a voice cooed. Icy cold fingers stroked his fake and Itachi sneered, sinking his head slightly. He ignored her, too jumbled by his own thoughts and the screeching music drilling through his ears. It was soothing, but he had had enough.

"We're almost home, dear," she said sweetly. Itachi frowned, unable to do much else. That horrific sound filled his ears and paralyzed him. He was useless.

Itachi stared ominously in her general direction while the music got louder, more menacing. "It's not my home," he heard himself rasp. His voice sounded distant and angry.

Soft laughter. "It's my home. Soon to be yours. Plus, you'll find what you're looking for there."

Itachi hated her, but internally perked up. If this was true, then Itachi would be at peace. It made his impending doom seem more reasonable. "Good," he wanted to say, but could not find his voice. It partially had something to do with that damn sweet music. Itachi closed his eyes, trying to block it out. It was useless. So useless that he could laugh.

Suddenly, the sounds changed into a twisting, painful epitome of death. A waltz of sorts. Itachi grimaced and tightened his fists, feeling himself slip into unconsciousness once again.

"Soon, my dear," the whisper sent chills down his spine and he was falling into the horrifying pit he had hoped to never see again.


End file.
